


Sly Cooper and Sonic the Hedgehog: A Thief's Virtue

by Isaak_The_Dragon



Category: Sly Cooper (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Sly Cooper and Sonic the Hedgehog Crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2020-05-15 15:07:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 41
Words: 121,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19298212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isaak_The_Dragon/pseuds/Isaak_The_Dragon
Summary: Sly Cooper and the Gang receive a mysterious package in the mail, and inside are plans for a heist and a walkie-talkie. Before they can question much, a voice tells them that if they can pull off a heist for him, he’ll gladly compensate them for it. Not ones to say no to a payday, they easily complete the heist, which involves stealing the 7 Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald from Knuckles. When they follow up for their reward, it’s revealed that Eggman is the one who assigned the job… and he has no intention to pay, quickly tossing them out of their ship without their beloved van and back onto Angel Island. After explaining it all to Knuckles’ frustration, but later understanding once Sonic and Tails enter the scene, the 6 vow to work together to right what they have wronged. With help from a saved Carmelita, can they stop Eggman’s newest plan for world domination?





	1. Prologue - The Seven Servers of Chaos

**Author's Note:**

> As I wanted to differentiate myself compared to most other fanfics, and I've had it in my head for this to be a sort of game idea that someone could do, I decided to try and write it as such that it could read like it were a video game walkthrough for an existing video game. Yes, I know that sounds weird and complicated, but read a few chapters and it might make some sense.
> 
> Anywho, for some more finer details, despite all of the game being in Sonic’s world, we’re gonna be following Sly Cooper’s style of game play [Though you might spot some Sonic play-styles being used on a rare occasion.]. What it means is that there will be a hub-world main area where all the Jobs are entered, and then special areas for whenever we enter a building or inside area.
> 
> Control wise, Sly, Bentley, and Murray are controlled as you’d expect from one of their games. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles follow their 3D play-styles from the ‘Adventure’ era, if that makes sense.
> 
> And don’t worry; the old worlds and jobs can still be replayed again once the game ends.

*After a fade in from the Sly Cooper logo, we are whisked along the streets of Paris in the early morning, following 3 shadowy figures of different sizes. One is slim and carries a cane, and hops along the rooftops silently. Another is more short and squared as it’s revealed to be a wheelchair that also scurries among the roofs. The last is a big, round one that runs along the alleyways and isn’t as gymnastically fit as the others but keeps along with them well enough. After some following, we enter through the door with them in to what appears to be a safe house. The lights click on as all 3 sit at the table.*

*Our slim character is turned to first, as he pulls out a large diamond that they had stolen earlier in the evening. For us, a blast of blue is shown behind him as words appear to the side of him, which read: **‘** **Sly Cooper, the Legman** **’**.*

Sly Cooper: “Heh, another successful heist, guys; scored ourselves the diamond stolen by Don Octavio to try and mind control the people of Venice to like opera again.”

*We turn over to our revealed turtle character as another background blast in green lets us know that he is: **‘** **Bentley, the Brains** **’**.*

Bentley: “Indeed it was, thanks to my careful planning. Though, I still wish you wouldn’t go and chat up with Carmelita all the time. We nearly got captured and forced to like opera!”

Sly:  “Come on, pal, you know she’s a great asset to us and we owe it to help her now. We’re trying to be on better terms now, remember?”

Bentley sighs: “Yeah, I know. I got to admit that being on this ‘good’ path is still quite new to me.”

*Our camera finally turns to the hippo, and behind him, a pinkish-red blast reveals **‘** **Murray, the Brawn** **’**. He is enjoying a pizza slice.*

Murray: “Did you guys see the pummeling I gave to Don Octavio?! I think it was the best beat down yet!”

Sly: “Oh yeah, we most definitely saw. I don’t think he’ll be planning to mess with Venice for quite a while.”

*Suddenly, an orange fox comes in from outside, smirking. A blast of orange behind her accompanies the words: **‘** **Carmelita, the Cop** **’**.*

Carmelita: “Alright, Ringtail, time to give back the diamond.”

Sly: “Of course, my beautiful vixen. I promise you, I am still the changed man, honest.”

Carmelita laughs: “Hah, I’m still not fully sure, Ringtail. But what you three are doing is at least a start.”

*While the gang goes into a relaxed state, with Bentley going on his computer, Murray eating pizza, Carmelita making sure the diamond was the real one, and Sly counting their loot, Sly’s voice comes up to narrate.  A camera pan above Sly’s head brings up images of Sly 4’s Cliffhanger ending, followed by Bentley, Murray and Carmelita traveling in time to his rescue.*

Sly, narrating: “It’s been quite some time since my friends Bentley and Murray, along with Carmelita, helped save me from Ancient Egypt and I haven’t taken any moment for granted since then.”

*Various scenes of new heists appear now.*

Sly, narrating: “We’ve had plenty of fun heists, but now under good intentions to help Carmelita take down the big bads that give Interpol the most trouble. Even I have to admit, it’s quite the new change of pace.”

*The camera returns back down as we look at the whole gang.*

Sly, narrating: “Little did we realize that a new heist was going to bring all of our relationships into retrospect.”

*Time flows ahead, as we watch Carmelita leave, leaving just the trio alone in the safehouse.*

*Bentley sighs loudly.*

Sly: “Bentley… what are thinking, pal?”

Bentley: “I know we’re trying to be on the better side of the law now, but I miss when we could just actually have a fun and challenging heist and not worry about if we were messing with a police investigation.”

Sly took a moment before saying: “I guess I can’t really disagree with you, Bentley. Going out into the world and stealing stuff without thinking of moral consequences was really fun. I am also worried that being on the straight and narrow is also a disgrace for a Cooper… again.”

Murray: “Hey, weren’t you feeling the same way when we went to do that Paris Museum heist before you got lost in time?”

Sly: “Yeah; though at least I’m not trying to work a sham relationship with ‘Lita anymore.”

Bentley: “Then why not go on a secret heist then? We’ll choose someplace she won’t be heading to. She’ll never know!”

Sly: “Maybe… but it feels wrong to just go behind her back to our old ways after promising her I wouldn’t.”

Murray: “Well, we’re behind whatever you want to do, Sly. Just say the word and I’ll fire the van up!”

*Sly didn’t have much time to think as a loud *clunk* happens on the sidewalk outside. The gang, curious, checks it out and finds a package.*

Bentley: “What the heck was that?”

Murray: “I think it was a box hitting the ground outside.”

Sly: “It is.”

*Sly grabs it and takes it inside and sets it on the table.*

Murray: “Is it even ours?”

Sly: “It is, according to the packaging information. But I don’t remember ordering anything. Bentley?”

Bentley: “Nope.”

Murray: “Let’s see what it is!”

*They open it up and find it is filled with plenty of plans for what looks to be a fully planned heist, and a 2-way radio.*

Murray: “It’s… plans?”

Bentley: “From a cursory glance, looks to be a fully formed heist!”

Sly: “Why would we get something like this?”

*The radio crackles to life, surprising them. The voice sounds guised and filtered, but the gang doesn’t know that.*

Mysterious voice: “Ah, good, you have got my package: Sly Cooper, Bentley, and Murray.”

Sly: “Hey, how do you know our names?!”

Mysterious voice: “You guys are well known as a gang who stops at nothing to steal what’s been wronged to someone… and I have been wronged one too many times.”

Bentley: “Get to the point; what do you want us to do?”

Mysterious voice: “As you can see by the plans I’ve given you, I want your gang to commit a jewel heist for me. But not just for any old jewels, they’re emeralds with immense power that could be used for good or evil, depending on the hands it lands in.”

Sly: “Hmm. That is something that we are usually dealing with… what’s in it for us?”

Mysterious voice: “Of course, a rich payday will come your way if you help me. I hear rings would be very valuable to you guys and we got plenty.”

Murray: “Woah! That sounds like we’d never go hungry again!”

Bentley: “And we wouldn’t have to be pickpocketing everyone on the side for a long while.”

Sly: “I guess I do need to rebuild the Cooper Vault… still…”

Mysterious voice: “If you’re worried a certain fox will try and bust you, there is no worry. She wouldn’t even know you were gone.”

Sly takes a moment to think. “Urgh… I’m sorry, Carmelita… we’ll do it.”

Murray: “Yes! Finally, some fun!”

Mysterious voice: “Just follow everything I wrote in the plans, and you’ll only be gone for an hour, heh he.”

Bentley: “From the looks of it, I think he’s right. This seems to be a pretty easy heist for us.”

Sly: “Alright, alright. I’m convinced. So where do we meet?”

Mysterious voice: “Just go to the coordinates I have written in the plans in your van, and you’ll find yourself at your destination faster than a certain blue vermin I know.”

Sly, narrating: “Well, somehow this suave stranger knew just what we wanted to hear, and in minutes we were in the van and ready to go.”

*Image of the van taking off into the Paris streets and then to the countryside.*

Sly, narrating: “The location of our heist did bring some confusion, as it said we were going to some place called Angel Island, someplace we’ve never heard on any maps before. But, once we drove through some woods he had marked us to drive through, we somehow found ourselves in the place he described in the plans.”

Mysterious voice: “Ah, I see you have arrived on the Island. I feel it best to warn you that Angel Island is a landmass that floats over the sea through a power held by the larger Emerald, called the Master Emerald.”

Bentley: “Wha? It floats? I’ve never heard of that kind of power.”

Mysterious voice: “Of course not, it’s only known to the few who even know this place exists.”

Sly: “I guess…”

Mysterious voice: “Don’t think too hard on it. You’ll be here and gone soon, so relax. If you are curious where I am, I am on a floating airship just out of sight so as to not warn the guardian of the island, who will be the thorn in our plan.”

*While they are driving, a curious glance outside the window should remind Sonic viewers of Angel Island Zone.*

Murray: “What’s so dangerous about him? Is he strong?”

Mysterious voice: “Yes, he’s quite strong and hard-headed, and thinks with his fists more than his brain. He calls himself Knuckles.”

Murray: “Sweet! Finally someone who could challenge me for once! Bring it on!”

Mysterious voice: “Yes, just be wary of those flying fists, hippo. Meanwhile, Bentley, you’ll be bombing open the hooks that prevent the gem from being pried loose, and if need be, helping Murray take down his foe.”

Bentley: “My bombs should be able to handle blasting these blocks I see outside, but what about if I accidently break the gem?”

Mysterious voice: “There should be no worry of that. Only a mighty punch could ever break it.”

Sly: “So what am I doing then?”

Mysterious voice: “Oh, yes, you will be heading into the smaller shrines in the Sanctuary around the Master Emerald and collect the smaller 7 emeralds, called Chaos Emeralds. You might feel their power as you collect them all, but it is just natural to them. You should finish before Murray and Bentley, so help them as you can.”

Sly: “And then what’s our escape route?”

Mysterious voice: “Either grab onto the arm that I will bring down to get the Master Emerald in my personal vehicle, or head into your van and drive off and my robot helper will catch you and take you aboard my ship.”

Sly: “I guess… that covers everything.”

Bentley: “I think we have a high chance of success here!”

Murray: “Yeah! Let’s do it!”

Mysterious voice: “I wish you luck!” *It crackles to silence.*

\-----

**Job: Emerald Snatch**

*The gang pulls up and spins around the van and they come out the back doors as they step onto the sanctuary and we immediately turn to the awakened guardian Knuckles. A red blast comes up behind him that says: **‘** **Knuckles, the Power Formation** **’** *

Knuckles: “Wha- Huh?! I’m awake! Hmm, aha! A… van? Odd, but they seem to easily found the Master Emerald, so they must not be good. So… COME AT ME! SEE IF YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO TAKE DOWN THIS ECHIDNA! YAH!!!”

Murray: “Hey! He’s a loudmouth too! Guess I should respond back.” *He gets to the base of the steps to the M.E.* “The Murray would like to challenge you to a brawl for that gem!”

Knuckles: “No way will you take the Master Emerald away; I must protect it with my life!”

**Boss: Knuckles**

Oh boy, looks like we’re starting off with a boss fight with the usual blowhard, Knuckles. Sonic fans should remember past fights with him and should have an easy time, but for Sly fans, don’t worry, he’s pretty easy. Knuckles starts off with simple 1-2-3 punch attack that pushes him forward with each one, which leaves him open to an attack after he finishes the last one. Afterward, he just runs around punching randomly until he is ready to do his attack again. After losing about half his health, he’ll start gliding around, which leads to a perfect chance to follow Murray’s tutorial on grabbing random blocks, crates and rocks that he can pick up and toss at Knuckles to damage him and stop him from flying before doing his punch attack again. He gets a bit dangerous during the last quarter of his health, where he’ll burrow underground and try to uppercut from his lifted dirt patch, but keeping on the move should keep us pretty safe.

*Once the last attack is delivered, Murray is left victorious over Knuckles as the red echidna collapses into the dirt.*

Knuckles: “N-no… I’ve been bested… Please don’t take the Emerald…” *His face flops into the dirt.*

\--

*Afterwards, Bentley comes out of the foliage and joins Murray.*

Bentley: “Wow, that was like watching you fight yourself, and you won!”

Murray: “Yeah! He nearly had me, but I got him good!”

Bentley: “Now I must go and bomb the supports holding the Emerald…”

To be honest, Bentley actually has the shortest part of the job, as all the player has to do with him is roll up the Master Emerald shrine and have Bentley place his bombs all around the little claws that prevent the M.E. from being pulled out of the ground.

Bentley: “I just gotta press the **Triangle Button** as I pass over the claws to place a bomb, and move away to avoid the blast. It’s almost too easy with these weak brick claws.”

After bombing the 6 claws around, his part of the job is complete as they head back to the van.

\--

*With a Cooper Logo fade, we head back in time and follow Sly as he sneaks over to the ruins nearby.*

Sly: “Now, let’s see, I’m supposed to collect those 7 smaller emeralds. It shouldn’t be that hard to do.”

We’ll now be taking control of Sly as he sneaks around in the Sanctuary, which should look mighty familiar to Sonic fans. One might notice layout similarities to Sonic 3&K’s Sky Sanctuary Zone.

Sly: “Hm, plenty of **blue sparkles** pointing out places where I can stand on rock tips with my Ninja Spire move and hooks to swing on. I just gotta jump once or twice and then press the **O** **Button** to use them jump off once I’m done to move on.”

Of course, plenty of traps are about what with spikes sticking out everywhere and make platforming that much harder. Guess Knuckles really doesn’t want anyone near the Emeralds at all.

Sly: “Plenty of ropes and vines around too, and I can simply climb on them by jumping and pressing the **O** **Button** on them then jump off once I reach their end.”

Sly: “Looks like I can avoid being crushed by hiding in those small low alcove. I press the **O Button** to enter them and move around with the **Left Analog Stick**. Maybe I can even find different ways around the ruin traps too.”

Of course, there are a few traps that seem to have no obvious answers like a hidden spike trap area, and we’ll have to follow conspicuous trails of rings to avoid falling to our doom.

Sly: “Hmm… I sense traps under the floor, but the way isn’t marked except for these… strange rings? Why is treasure just floating around? Though… treasure hasn’t steered me wrong before. Guess I’ll collect them as I follow their path.”

Since this is Sly’s first time touching the Emeralds, each one evokes strange feelings into him as he grabs them.

*Sly grabs the **Red Emerald** , and the area goes red for a moment, before disappearing.* “Ergh… an intense anger? I want to punch Clockwerk for killing my family… but he’s dead.” *He shakes it off as he puts the Emerald away.*

*Sly grabs the **Yellow Emerald** , and the area goes yellow for a moment, before disappearing.* “Mmm, the fun I have with my friends every day. I feel incredibly happy.” *He shakes it off as he puts the Emerald away.*

*Sly grabs the **Green Emerald** , and the area turns green for a moment, before disappearing.* “Ooo, I feel like I just got rejuvenated and I wanna thank Carmelita for putting up with me.” *He shakes it off as he puts the Emerald away.*

*Sly grabs the  **Cyan Emerald** , and the area goes cyan for a moment, before disappearing.* “Ah, I feel even more accomplished, like I could do anything.” *He shakes it off as he puts the Emerald away.*

*Sly grabs the **Blue Emerald** , and the area goes blue for a moment, before disappearing.* “Hm... I feel my soul at ease. Mmm…” *He shakes it off as he puts the Emerald away.*

*Sly grabs the **Purple Emerald** , and the area goes purple for a moment, before disappearing.* “My… parents...” *He really quickly shakes it off as he puts the Emerald away, not wanting to dwell on this emotion.*

*Sly grabs the **White Emerald** , and the area goes grey for a moment, before disappearing.* “I can’t feel anything, other than this numbness...” *He shakes it off as he puts the Emerald away.*

It should make a well made obstacle course to show off all of Sly’s moves and tricks. His part ends once he snatches the last Chaos Emerald and joins the other 2 in the van only a short jog away.

**JOB COMPLETE**

\-----

*We change to a 2D comic cutscene of the van driving away from the shrine and what is obviously a new Egg Carrier ship flying in.*

Sly, narrating: “Surprisingly, our job went well, and as soon as we started moving, we saw the airship our client mentioned. It was quite a huge carrier ship, Bentley noted, and it also had quite the gaudy color scheme of red and oranges. The big thing of notice was the insignia, which was of a face with an overtly long mustache. Clearly, this man was egotistical, but none of that really mattered when we were promised a payday.”

*The comic changes to show 2 small ships, two obvious Egg-Mobiles, come and grow into frame and snatch the M.E. from its pedestal and also grab the van and dragged them into the ship.*

Sly, narrating: “It wasn’t long before two smaller machines flew over us and the big gem, and shot down claws that snatched us and the Master Emerald. I remember Murray complaining a bit that their claw was not exactly gently grabbing us, and I had to agree it wasn’t a smooth ride, being swung around in the winds. Still, we somehow survived and entered the ship.”

*As we fade to black.*

Sly, narrating: “Oh, how we wished we didn’t take this job at all…”

\--

*We return to Sly style 3D as the van and the Master Emerald are dragged into the cargo room. The gang comes out, a little sky sick.*

Bentley: “Oh, gods, that was a bumpy ride.”

Murray: “I don’t feel so good. It’s like my stomach has flipped around.”

Sly: “Yeah, but at least we survived.”

*The mysterious stranger comes up in the shadows, the only thing that you can see other than somewhat of a silhouette is the shine off his glasses.*

Mysterious voice: “Ahh, you’ve arrived. I hope the trip wasn’t too… uncomfortable.”

Sly: “Well, we’ve had worse, that’s for sure. Least we didn’t crash for this one.”

Mysterious voice: “Mmm, well, I see you’ve brought the Master Emerald. But do you have the Chaos Emeralds as well?”

*Sly shows off a loot bag of all 7 Emeralds.*

Mysterious voice: “Ah, perfect.” *He examines them, a glow of each color shines a bit of light on him, revealing a familiar evil to Sonic fans.*

Sly: “Ahem? I think you owe us the reward?”

Dr. Eggman: “Oh, yes. Orbot, Cubot, please give our heroes their reward.”

*Two strange robots, one circular and one cubic, come in and hand Sly, Bentley and Murray a large batch of rings*

Sly: “Woah…”

Bentley: “Wow! It’s a lot of rings!”

Murray: “We’re never gonna go hungry again!”

Sly: “T-thank you, sir.”

Dr. Eggman: “Mmm, you’re thanking me? Isn’t that unbecoming of a Cooper?”

Sly: “I-I guess- wait… how would you know about the Cooper line?”

*Dr. Eggman turns away the shadows to reveal himself fully.* “I’ve done plenty of research on you and your gang… and you’ve helped doom this world for good.” *A black blast blows behind him writing, **‘ Dr. Eggman, the Villain ’**.*

Sly: “W-what the heck are you?”

Bentley: “He can’t be an animal; he has no fur other than that mustache.”

Dr. Eggman growls: “You’re not even the blue pest, and still I feel the sting of that pincushion… I am Dr. Eggman, a human, and you’re about to find out that you should have never worked with me.”

Sly, Bentley, and Murray: “Wha-?”

Dr. Eggman: “Goodbye, Cooper Gang! Bwah-hah-ha!”

*With a press of a button, the rings are revealed to be Dummy Rings and explode, the force knocking back the gang out of the ship and back down onto Angel Island.*

Orbot, the orb shaped robot: “Are you sure that was a smart idea, boss?”

Dr. Eggman: “Do you wish to be blown away too, Orbot?”

Cubot, the cube shaped robot. He has a cowboy accent: “Well, partner, I think what Orbot is trying to say is that heroes that you tend to explode out of your ship tend to come back and bite your rear like a rabid flea on a dog.”

*A blue robot comes over carrying the Master Emerald, Sonic fans know who it is.*

Metal Sonic: “I HAVE TO ADMIT, MASTER, THAT THERE IS THE STRONG POSSIBILITY THAT MY LOATHSOME COPY AND HIS FRIENDS COULD COME AFTER US ONCE THEY FIND THEM.”

Dr. Eggman: “Cubot and Metal Sonic, you may be right, but I wouldn’t be an evil genius if I didn’t expect that. For one, we got the Master Emerald, and two, I am close to figuring out the power of these Emeralds… something none of you would ever expect me to do.”

Orbot, Cubot, and Metal Sonic: “Master Eggman?”

Dr. Eggman: “Hush, it will be revealed in due time. Like a birthday surprise, it’s best to keep it locked tight until ready. But! For now, let’s get this plan in motion. Summon the villains! We got some conquering to do.”

\--

*We return to 2D comics as our heroes fall down, Sly using his parachute, Bentley using his jetpack wheelchair, but Murray lands on top of Knuckles, waking him.*

Sly, narrating: “We were blasted off the ship, and fell down miles back down onto the landmass below. Although I had my parachute, and Bentley his wheelchair’s jetpacks, Murray had nothing to break his fall except for the echidna that he defeated earlier. The impact woke him up from his sleep and he wasn’t pleased at us.”

*The comic shows Knuckles squirms out from under Murray. Once he sees the M.E. is gone, he goes on a tirade at them.*

Knuckles: “Gah! Get off of me! H-huh? The Master Emerald is GONE?!! You guys took it!! Give it back or I’m gonna punch you so hard and so far that they’re never going to find you!”

Sly, narrating: “Unfortunately, we had nothing to give him as we had lost them all. And we couldn’t really explain the situation to him; he didn’t feel like he would listen. We were almost goners, until a blue hedgehog and yellow fox came by to deal with the enraged Knuckles.”

*A plane flies in from above before touching down, and out comes a blue hedgehog and a yellow fox who walk over. Two blasts, one blue and one yellow glow behind them, saying ‘ **Sonic the Speed Formation** ’ and ‘ **Tails the Flying Formation** ’.*

Tails: “Knuckles! Are you okay?! We saw Eggman’s airship flying by and hurried here as quickly as we could.”

Knuckles: “THESE JERKS PUNCHED ME SENSELESS AND STOLE THE MASTER EMERALD! And from what I can feel, the Chaos Emeralds are gone too! In a couple of minutes, this Island is gonna fall back into the ocean again! Can’t anyone leave me in peace?!”

Sonic: “Geez, calm down, Knucklehead. We’ll fix it, but yelling isn’t going to get your jewels back.”

*Knuckles grumbles quietly.*

Sonic: “Well, care to explain yourselves?”

Sly, narrating: “I mulled over whether to lie or to tell the truth, but something deep inside me helped me choose.”

Sly: “We… did steal the jewels.”

Knuckles, now very annoyed: “I KNEW IT!!! MAKE THEM GIVE THEM BACK!!!”

Sly: “We… can’t… the creature on that ship stole them all.”

Murray: “Yeah! He was big! And egg shaped!”

Bentley: “I don’t know what he is, but I could feel an air of evil smartness in that guy.”

Sly: “And had quite the mustache.”

Tails: “That sounds like Dr. Eggman! So he must have all the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald now!”

Knuckles froths with anger: “THEY GAVE THE EMERALDS TO HIM?!!! CAN’T I REALLY PUNCH THEM NOW, SONIC?!”

Sonic: “Is punching them really going to get your stuff back, Knuckles? Calm down.”

Knuckles: “Calm down? CALM DOWN?! HOW CAN I WHEN WHAT I’VE BEEN SWORN TO PROTECT IS GONE! AND WHY AREN’T YOU ANGRY AT THESE EGGMAN HELPERS?!”

Sonic: “Because I don’t think we have the whole picture of what’s going on. For example, I don’t find these folks familiar. You guys from around here?”

Sly: “We don’t… think so. We’ve never heard of this island before today.”

Tails: “Then how did you guys even get here?”

Sly: “Um… we were told by your ‘Eggman’ to come here and steal them.”

Bentley: “Yeah, and he gave use these plans in the mail.”

*He hands over the plans, which Tails looks over them before saying.*

Tails: “Uh-oh. This does look like Eggman’s handiwork. And worse, this is a pretty elaborate plan. It requires hiring these 3 thieves to surprise and take down the red airhead-“

Knuckles: “HEY!”

Tails: “-And steal the Emeralds for him all without arousing suspicion to us, the blue pincushion and dumb fox. It’s surprisingly a good plan, we only knew because we saw the ship after hearing a big explosion.”

Sly: “I think that was us after the rings he gave us exploded in our hands.”

Tails: “Guess he was hoping that Knuckles would beat them into silence while he goes on with… whatever is the next step of his plan?”

Sonic: “That is… quite an elaborate plan he’s got. What is ol’ Eggface thinking? Hm.”

Knuckles: “Um, hello?! Why aren’t we talking about the obvious issue that they are THIEVES?! Like that bat Rouge?!”

Sonic: “Well, care to explain yourselves there?”

*The scene changes as pictures of the members of the Cooper clan are shown, followed by the death of his parents and the orphanage, followed by the scary picture of Clockwerk, Dr. M, and Le Paradox, followed by Carmelita, and showing them helping in the background.*

Sly, narrating: “I decided to lay out my life to them, of how I came from a long line of professional thieves that spanned the ages of Ancient Egypt all the way up to the present. I told them of how my parents died and left me orphaned, how I became friends with my pals Bentley and Murray, of our adventures of defeating a sinister bird who hated my family twice, of defeating an old partner of my dad who tried to get revenge against me, how we stopped a crazed skunk bent on rewriting time and Cooper history. I admitted that we weren’t exactly law-abiding, that was more for my rival and favorite fox, Carmelita, but if we had the chance to heist against a bigger criminal, we weren’t scared to do it.”

Sly, narrating: “By the time everything was laid out, we were knocked over by the force of island finally falling into the sea.”

*The scene jolts back onto Angel Island as everyone falls over from the force before soon getting back up.*

Knuckles grunts as he dusts himself off: “That sounds like a bunch of hooey! I’ve never even heard of half of those places, or even anything he was talking about.”

Sonic sneers: “Oh, how could you, what with your head in the dirt? You rarely leave the island. Although, with all the traveling I do, I have to admit I’ve never heard much of what they are talking about either-”

Knuckles: “See! I knew it!”

Sonic: “-BUT! I don’t think they are actually from around here at all. Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Tails?”

Tails: “I think Eggman thought these otherworldly thieves would be perfect as we’d never know who they are.”

Sonic: “Yeah, and expect ol’ Knucklehead to beat them up before we got the chance to talk.”

Knuckles: “HEY!”

Bentley: “So you do believe us?”

Sonic: “While I don’t commend your lifestyle choices, you guys do have your sense of morality-” *Looks at Knuckles* “-like Rouge.”

*Knuckles grumbles again.*

Sonic: “And I think you guys are probably not happy that Dr. Eggman used you as pawns for his scheme, I’m guessing?”

Sly: “Definitely not, to say the least.”

Sonic: “So, how about we team up to stop whatever Eggman is planning?”

Sly: “Sure. It’s the least I can do to make all this up.”

Bentley: “I have to admit, I’m a bit skeptical, but I want to butt genius minds with this Dr. Eggman and show he messed with the wrong turtle.”

Murray makes a surprised gasp: “AH! The van! He has her too! I need to save her!”

Tails: “Seems we are all agreed?”

Knuckles grumbles some more: “Grr… fine. But I’m keeping my eyes on you three!”

Sonic: “Sweet! Now, let’s go get those Emeralds back.”

Sly, narrating: “It looks like we’ve been swept into another mess, one that I allowed by my own hand. I have to make this right for these guys, as my sworn duty as a Cooper. At least it will be a fun one, hopefully.”


	2. Episode 1: Fun is Infinte?: Introduction through First Intermission

**Introduction** :

*Sly narrates us off as we see the gang being sad over the van, and realize they are forced to walk and keep up with the speedy hedgehog and his friends, but they soon get help from Tails, pointing at the Tornado.*

Sly, narrating: “It was quite a sobering moment to realize that for once in a long while, we had no means of transportation to get to a new place. The loss of our van really hit Murray the hardest, crying a river over it. Worse was that when Sonic revealed his super speed to us, and we had little chance to keep up.”

*Tails goes and points at his plane, the Tornado. Murray sits, holding Bentley as Sly climbs on the wings as it starts to fly.*

Sly, narrating: “Thankfully, Tails was nice enough to offer us a ride on his plane, though there weren’t enough seats. I didn’t mind standing on the wings while Murray held Bentley in his lap.”

*Sonic is shown speeding on the ground at the bottom of the comic, Knuckles gliding in the middle, and Tails and the Cooper gang at the top. Soon, the Miles Electric overlays the picture, showing the Red Emerald’s location… followed by Infinite.*

Sly, narrating: “Although it was a sight to behold to see Sonic’s world, we did not have time to enjoy it as Tails’ machine he had, which he called the Miles Electric, alerted us of the presence of the Red Emerald ahead of us, followed by a buzzing sound that made Tails jump a bit.”

Tails: “In… Infinite.”

Sonic, butting in the narration: “Hey! Mind if I explain him?”

Sly, narrating: “I-I guess.”

Sonic, narrating: “Sweet!”

*The shot shifts to show Infinite surrounded by his illusion cubes before some fade away to first show his Jackal Squad, before they get beaten up by Shadow. More fade away to show the Phantom Ruby and Eggman, showing their team-up. The planet is shown growing redder, suggesting Eggman’s conquest, before showing Sonic being let out of a cell in the foreground and returning the world blue. The rest of the cubes fade away showing Phantom Rubies that soon shatter and Infinite’s eyes close and his arms drop, suggesting he is weakened. Eggman’s hand covers him for a bit before moving away when the Red Emerald comes in front and into Infinite’s hand, making his eyelids and arms raise back up. It ends with the planet exploding to pieces.*

Sonic, narrating: “Infinite is, like the illusions he creates, mysterious. No one knows who he is or where he comes from, other than that my buddy Shadow beat him when Eggman was working on prototypes of the Phantom Ruby. After that beatdown and losing his Jackal Squad, he got all angry and vowed revenge on everyone, especially those that call him weak. It got worse when he teamed up with Eggman and imprisoned me for a while in space, but thanks to my friends, they soon had me free and we took back the world from Infinite and Eggman’s grubby hands. During our final battle, after shattering all the Phantom Ruby prototypes, Infinite suddenly disappeared, and we only assumed Eggman pulled him back because he was too powerless to move on. Though, it seems with the Red Emerald, Infinite might just be able to fight again, and we can only bet he’s the demolition crew. We got to stop him before he levels everything!”

Sly Cooper, his gang and Team Sonic in...

*We are shown the shot of a city at sunset, but the shot soon get fuzzy and glitchy, before being deleted and replaced with a purple/blue grid, leaving nothing but the words ‘ **Fun Is Infinite?** ’ made by the original scene.*

\-----

 **Hub Layout** : Sly and the gang have made their hideout in the penthouse of a highrise apartment that Sonic ‘owns’ for free [Consider it a gift from the city]. Whereas a normal city in Sly’s world would have sidewalks, highways, and cars down below, in Sonic’s world, all of them float at heights matching the roofs of the tall buildings, with skyscrapers being the only things higher than anything else. Even the cars just float above the road, suggesting technical achievements are ahead of the times here. Everything from parks to restaurants to high speed express tunnels help connect this high-rise city together. This might be one of those times a Cooper will have a hard time hiding, unless one uses trees and other rooftop hiding spots. But down below, the streets are dark under clouds and smog, leading to plenty of crime down below. It actually looks older than the upper area, most notable being the older looking square box light poles, making it feel like Halloween never ends down here [The orange lighting aint helping, heh]. It’d be the perfect place to hide as a villain.

Of course, a large factory for Eggman has parked itself in the North, spewing out all the badniks terrorizing the city. But it might not be the only one as another, possibly from the earlier war, is still in production under those smog clouds. Also down below, Infinite can be spotted rolling around in a spiked illusion ball, possibly aiming to crush the player. There also seems to be quite a few bars with gaudy neon lights that stick out like sore thumbs down below. What could they be for...

 **Enemies** :

  * **Bird** : Modeled after the bird citizens, Infinite saw potential in them and has made copies to be in his armies. They mostly slap the player with their wings, but running from them will be hard because they can double jump to make searching much easier on them. It doesn’t take much to defeat them and poof them into the illusion cubes they were made of. They drop 4-6 rings and pickpocketing them usually gives a small sized item.
  * **Jackals** : No, they aren’t Infinite, but he has had them dressed like him as they hop around the roofs and sidewalks looking for anyone to cause trouble to. They usually just aim to punch a bunch at the player. Oddly, they poof into his illusion cubes when defeated, hmm… Pickpocketing or defeating them makes them drop between 5-7 rings, and there is a fair chance they’ll give a medium sized item when pilfered enough.
  * **Bear** : Infinite saw the bear citizens and saw great guards in them, so they are the flashlight enemies of this place. Big and burly, they can take damage as much as they dish out, so only sneaking up on them or using a strong character will make defeating them easier. Watch out if they start winding their heads back, as they are going to blow a powerful gust to try and knock the player far away, and possibly into the cracks down to the seedy underbelly. Whether they poof into illusion cubes or just are pickpocketed, they give away 6-8 rings, and may give away a large sized item for quick monies.
  * **E.G.G. Beetle** : At first glance, one could be fooled that these things were G.U.N. Beetles with the color scheme, but they become obvious when they shoot at us and we can see the Eggman insignia on them. They shoot at long intervals and are about as dangerous as a Green Egg Flapper. One smack breaks them and drops 2 rings.
  * **E.G.G. Shield Hunter** : Once again, these look like Shield Hunters from G.U.N., but they have Eggman-labeled shields and guns to fire. The shield does prevent a frontal attack from weaker members but they aren’t hard to get behind and hit them from there. They release 3 rings when smashed.
  * **E.G.G. Trooper** : It’s the G.U.N. trooper mechs but it has a Pawn head where the cockpit would be. Their green armor also falls off with a few hits and reveals the orange mech suit underneath. They’re outfitted with a gun that can shoot long range, but they miss a lot at short range. They will require a few hits to blow up and earn 4 rings from.
  * **Nebula** : I wonder what they are hiding underneath their metal shells… Anyway, they float around in their little armored mobiles, trying to float above you and plop a mine ball on your head. Give them a nice smack to get 2 rings.
  * **Forces Egg Pawn** : Those Egg Pawns sure love playing dress-up, don’t they? They’re modeled after their Forces paint jobs and carry the usual blaster they always have. So easy to smash and earn 3 rings from.
  * **Dokabuton** : Robotnik’s ideal robot version of a stag beetle. Although they got spike as their ‘pincers’ to poke attackers from above, they act more like rolling barricades trying to push the player into an enemy or a pit with their faster speed. Their layer of armor will need to be popped off first before getting at their exposed circuits. Also gives 4 rings.



Treasures

From Guards:

  * _Small Ruby_ : Mostly taken from lower guards. Worth 15 rings.
  * _Medium Ruby_ : Mostly taken from the middle guards. Worth 20 rings.
  * _Large Ruby_ : Mostly taken from the big guards. Worth 25 rings.



On Pedestals:

  * _Computer Chip_ : Kind of an odd thing to find in one of the alleys up here, but it does have Eggman’s face on it, could need it. Bring it back for 30 rings.
  * _Golden TV Antenna_ : Atop one of the lower rooftops… wouldn’t it be hard to watch TV with this thing? Eh, take it to the hideout to get 50 rings for it.
  * _Phantom Ruby Shard_ : Laying atop one of the taller rooftops, quietly asking for a nabbing. Return it to the safe house for 70 rings.



~~Jobs~~

**Highrise Recon**

  * Take recon photos of the upper factory.
  * Take recon of Infinite.
  * Take recon of the lower factory.
  * Take recon of the 3 gaudy bars.



*After exiting outside into the evening-lit city, Sly hops himself onto the roof of the hideout and pulls out his binocucom.*

Sly: “Hm, I don’t think I’ve ever really been out in a city while not in disguise.”

Bentley: “It’s not like anyone knows us here, so there’s no need to hide, yet.”

Sly: “Well, I guess I’m off on my usual reconnaissance then?”

Bentley: “Yep. We got to find out what this Infinite guy is up to.”

Sonic, heard from Bentley’s headset: “Hey. mind if I tell him something?”

Bentley: “Huh? Yeah, use mine for the moment.”

*Bentley’s picture static changes to Sonic.*

Sonic: “I don’t know really anything about the bad guys in your world, but if you spot Infinite anywhere, don’t engage him. He has dangerous illusions that are designed to kill anyone who falls in them.”

Sly: “Hm, indeed, his powers don’t sound like any of our enemies. Alright then. By the way, what’s with all these robots?”

*Tails grabs the headset and the picture static changes to his head.*

Tails: “They’re badniks, Eggman’s robot creations that do his bidding. If you spot one, just smack them, they aren’t worth hiding from with their stealth-breaking tech.”

Sly: “Heh, nothing a little swat from my cane can’t handle.”

*Bentley takes his headset back and the static change to his head.*

Bentley: “Yeah. We got waypoints set on what we want you to reconnaissance, Sly. Remember how to do it?”

Sly: “Yep. I press the **Select** to bring up the set waypoints, and I can pinpoint them by looking into the binocucom with the **Right Analog Stick** Button. That’s also how I take pictures too, by pressing the **Square** button when I got a good image lined up in them.”

Bentley: “You must be very eager to start the mission, huh? Alright then, go start with taking a picture of the factory over there.”

And so, our first job begins in this metropolitan paradise as the player sends Sly out into the city on their first objective, taking a picture of the newly parked factory at the northern edge of town. It’s not recommended to take a photo too close to it, or else the picture is most likely going to be messed up by a badnik or guard. A better spot would be from atop a tree or a nearby building, getting a clear, wide view of it.

Bentley: “Hmm… interesting. I’ve never seen a floating factory before, at least, none of this kind.”

Tails, now with a headset: “It’s natural in our world. From what I can tell, it seems we will have to use the open skylights above to enter it.”

Sly: “I don’t see anything for me to use any of my tricks on to climb them.”

Tails: “Don’t worry on that, we’ll find a way.”

Sly focuses in on a downward walkway: “Hm… is that a way down to the underside of this city?

Sonic, also with a headset too: “Yeah, though we’ve never been down there. It’s probably where Eggman would hide things though. Just be careful, it’s where our criminals would lie in wait.”

Sly: “No worries there, dark and shady are the perfect location for Coopers.”

And off we go, down below the smog clouds and to the darkened streets underfoot, lead by the usual trail of rings in formation leading on a general route to the next location. It makes Sly ponder a question aloud.

Sly: “What’s with these rings? They’re everywhere and seem to lead me to places to go.”

Knuckles comes on his headset: “They are manifestations of Chaos power made by the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald, that you guys stole! They’re around when an Emerald’s around and do their best to help lead us back to them!”

Sly: “Um… Okay?”

Bentley: “They’ll explain more later, but it’s basically guided treasure provided by those Emeralds that helps them get the Chaos Emeralds back.”

Sly: “Hmm, guided treasure, eh? Are they worth anything?”

Tails: “Well, it’s abundant enough that our world has made them a universal currency as well as using it in some products.”

Knuckles growls: “Don’t tell them that, Tails! They’re going to steal all the rings for their own monetary gain!”

Sonic: “Cut it off, Knux. We’re here, we’ll make sure they don’t do anything too shady, alright?”

Knuckles: “Fine.” *Grumbles.*

Sly: “Hmm, I guess there’s good reason to collect them then.”

Down below is a thieves paradise, plenty of monetary gains on guards to steal, though they can run in groups together. There is also plenty of poles, banisters and windowsills along the buildings to provide upper routes as well. But remember that there are objectives to complete, first off being taking a picture of the lower factory in the center of the city.

Tails: “I knew he still had to have a badnik producing factory in the city, but we could never find it until now. Looks like it has to be entered the same way as the above one.”

The second being a picture of Infinite in his rolling ball.

Sonic: “Huh, rolling around in an illusion? Must be on patrol for right now.”

Sly: “I’m feeling a slight tingling sensation when he rolls past… one similar when I snatched the Red Emerald. Could he have it on his person?”

Knuckles: “Grr… it’s possible, but he’s real tricky. He might be just posing the feeling onto you as well. It’s a loss for now.”

And the third is a series of 3 pictures, getting the location of 3 bars that look gaudy to the landscape, what with their bright neon lights shining out among the rest of the buildings.

Sly: “Well, all those bars seem to scream to me that they need further exploration.”

Sonic: “Huh? Why?”

Sly: “They stand out so obviously with their neon lights that there is no question in my mind that they are hiding something very important for Infinite.”

Bentley: “While I can’t say with 100% certainty myself, Sly’s gut to these things is usually right.”

Bentley: “Well, I think we’ve gotten all the recon we can right now, so bring it back here, Sly, so we can plan our next moves.”

 **JOB COMPLETE**  *Sly swings his cane around in his usual style, and posing in victory.*

\-----

**Intermission 1**

[For every intermission, the camera pans across our characters as we take a view of the projector screen, and see the photos and plans of the next jobs.]

*Bentley brings up the first slide, which is of Infinite in his rolling ball*

Bentley: “From the warnings of our new friends, and just the bad vibes I feel from this guy, I think we should steer clear of Infinite as much as we can. So, instead, we are going to work on other things in the meantime. Tails?”

*The slide moves to a picture of one of the factories, which then its skylights get circled*

Tails: “Right, Bentley. We need to find the best way to bring them down quickly before their productions go into overdrive when they spot us. And seeing how there’s no way for your gang to climb them, I will go and scout them out instead. I’ll use those skylights as my entry.”

*The slide moves on to a third picture, which is one of the gaudy bars.*

Bentley: “Meanwhile, as Sly pointed out earlier with those bars he saw down there, something about them is raising suspicion to me. So, of course, Sly, you’re going to make your way in and find out anything you can in them.”

Sly: “I wonder if security in this world is different than the usual lasers and spotlights, hm.”

Bentley: “We’ll regroup again once we got all the stuff we need.”

~~Thiefnet Upgrades~~

  * _Shadowed Thief_ : 150 Rings [Description: Sly is able to drape himself in a shadowed illusion that allows him to walk around with no worry of being spotted, like the power from Sly 2 and 3, but a bit more made to avoid badniks now. However, touching an enemy directly will break this and it can’t be used under alarmed guards.]
  * _Rocket Shoes_ : 100 Rings [Description: When Tails runs out flight, press the X button to make his shows release rocket bursts to lower his descent speed and make it a bit easier to land more precisely in his tired state.




	3. Episode 1: Fun is Infinte?: Job 2 through Second Intermission

**Research and Developments**

  * Sneak into the first factory.
  * Take recon of its machines and weak points.
  * Sneak into the second factory.
  * Take recon of its machines and weak points.



Ah, time has moved forward a bit, and the late evening sky glows with reds and pinks. The two-tailed fox takes to the air to get his mission started. Although the fox has a handy spin attack to hit things on the ground or in the air, he is definitely the weakest of the bunch to the guards, but best for flying badnik smashing. In any event, the mission gets started when Tails is standing on the roof of the flying factory.

*Tails pulls out a binocucom made for him, which, through its fox shaped viewscreen, is colored dark yellow and has a mini version of the Tornado hanging on the top, and has various 1s and 0s running down the sides.*

Tails: “Alright, I’m on top of the first factory and about to make my way in. I suppose I’m to use these binocucoms to get recon of things Knuckles and Murray will smash to stop all production in them?”

Bentley: “Yes, that’s right. Just get me enough images and I can then use them to best plan out our attacks. Think you can handle yourself?”

Tails: “Heh, yeah. I’m quite light-footed, so I shouldn’t alert anyone, and if I do, I can smack them with my tails.”

Bentley: “Ah, good, well, get to it then.”

With a little push, a glass skylight moves out of the way and Tails enters the factory. The fox soon lands on a catwalk, and down below are guards, patrolling around tight enough that it makes landing on the floor a loss of stealth and the job. Also, floating Nebulas float above, making flight impossible too. So how about we just head along the catwalks and… uh-oh.

Tails: “Hmm, my first obstacle seems to be a lifted drawbridge, and this crank nearby. If I hit it enough times with my spin, it should drop down all the way.”

Well, that was pretty easy. Along the way is the first machine releasing badniks onto a conveyor belt. It’s weakness is a weak section of tunnel system, and breaking it would crash any badniks to pieces, so get a pic of that. What’s next?

Tails: “Looks like a pretty big gap and I can’t fly over it…”

Bentley: “Does that mean you can’t complete the mission?”

Tails: “Thankfully, no, since I got my trusty  **T-Pup** . This little guy can do it all: grab and push or pull things, lift them around, fly in narrow spaces with its helicopter blade, and bring things back to me too.”

Bentley: “Wow. Sounds like the perfect robot assistant. All I really got is a grapple camera that has to attach to walls to move around, that can also distract, listen in, or attack guards with a mini-gun.”

Tails: “Well, mine can’t attack really and returns upon the slightest damage, so they do each have their uses.”

Bentley: “True. Well, I’ll let you get to work then.”

A little tutorial comes up for the T-Pup.  **R1** sends it out, holding  **X** makes it fly forward and  **Square** backwards,  **Left** and  **Right** for turning,  **Up** and  **Down** to tilt it up and down,  **O** makes it drop its grapple onto something, which can then be pushed forward or pulled backward with  **X** or  **Square** after rotating in the desired direction. Pressing  **O** again releases the grapple. The guards won’t care, and aren’t in this area, so just push them over to the walkway so you can get across. Pressing  **R1** again returns it back to Tails and return control to him.

Moving on are a few guards to be avoided on the catwalks as well, and another badnik producer to take a picture of, this one’s weakness being the arms that make the badniks, before reaching the final challenge at the end of the factory.

Tails: “Hmm… one last challenge I see… Looks like someone deliberately broke the control panel that works all the catwalks in this area.”

Bentley: “I’d send you our tools, but I just now realized we don't have my toolbox either.”

Tails: “Heh, don’t worry. I’m a master mechanic. This looks to be just a simple rewiring job. Just gotta reattach them to the right colors.”

One can do a simple mini-game where they match wires to their sockets by pressing the right colors, yes? Blue is  **X** , Red is  **O** , Pink is  **Square** , and Green is  **Triangle** . Just press the button for the color wire Tails is holding so he can attach it. It should take less than 30 seconds to finish. Once done, we head topside and look to a screen that shows the catwalks. Rotating the  **Left Analog Stick** spins the catwalks around, and  **L1 and R1** changes to the previous or next catwalk. It’s as simple as spinning the stick until you hear the catwalks click into place.

With that done, it’s just one more badnik producer, which just has a literal STOP button just out of reach to normal hands that needs a hard press somehow. Get a picture of that, then it’s off to the end of the catwalk and the weakness of the factory, rockets keeping the factory afloat. Their weakness is pretty much being smashed apart, so that won’t be too hard. Leaving the factory is as simple as leaving through the vent holes, and then it’s a small flight down to the bottom factory. Down below, push open another skylight and enter this factory. Once inside...

*Tails lands with a soft hit on the catwalks and quickly spots Infinite wandering on the factory floor below. He seems to be chatting to Eggman*

Infinite: “Stupid machinery. Only a few years and it’s already rusted.”

Eggman, though a communicator: “The only peril of living in a world of smog, but who cares when I’m in control.”

Infinite: “You better be right, because I only joined again for the power boost of the Red Emerald. I wanna show that stupid hedgehog that I’m not WEAK!!!”

Eggman: “Jeez, Infinite, you’re never going to let that defeat get out of your head, will you?”

Infinite: “How can I when that monster KILLED all of my members?! I must AVENGE them!”

Eggman: “Whatever, just use your illusion cubes to make the place look impenetrable and unable to be destroyed.”

Infinite: “Fine, but I still don’t see why I can’t just kill them now…”

*With a wave of his hand, illusion cubes fly everywhere and make the place look fresh and new. They also add gun turrets here and there to make passage that much harder. Once his work was done, he illusioned out of the area.*

Tails: “Well… this got a lot harder… All of the weaknesses of this factory got eliminated with these illusion cubes.”

Bentley: “Hmm… Don’t worry about doing recon for the place, Tails. We’ll send in Murray to break it apart instead.”

Murray: “Illusions will be no match for the power of THE MURRAY!”

Tails: “Okay, I don’t trust my luck with these guns anyway.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Tails flies up on the victory screen and gives a thumbs up.*

\-----

**Bar None**

  * Investigate the first bar.
  * Investigate the second bar.
  * Investigate the third bar.



Down below, with the red sky shining, the place is bathed in deep red, almost like blood was all over everything. Of course, it takes more than that to scare a Cooper as he makes his way in front of one of the bars.

Sly: “Hm, simple locks, I can easily break in and gather the intel of what’s in these bars.”

Bentley: “Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious. And who knows what kind of security system could be in place in these bars. Our new friends don’t really know.”

Sly: “Ooo, jumping into the unknown, I like it. Well, here I go.”

Inside, Sly is met with quite a new kind of security, sensor traps. If Sly puts his full weight on the floor that’s not near the front or back walls, badniks will come running up the stairs to attack Sly until he gets off of the floor; think like the sensor alarms in Launch Base Zone. Those badniks will have to be defeated before you can escape the room. Thankfully, there’s plenty of tables and hanging lights on the top floor, crates and glasses in the first basement, and pipes and other things on the bottom basement. Along the way, Sly answers a question from Sonic.

Sonic: “I hope this isn’t too much of a dark place, but what was this Clockwerk and how he was?”

Sly: “It’s not. He’s dead now. He was a terror in my family for many generations of Coopers. And he pretty much looked like a robotic owl.”

Sonic: “Robotic owl, huh? Sounds like something Eggman would make.”

Sly: “He can’t be rebuilt, he turned to dust before our eyes in our last encounter.”

Sonic: “And his personality?”

Sly: “Dark, evil, hatred… basically an angel of death.”

Sonic: “Sounds like Eggman with no ham. They honestly sound boring to me.”

Once down there in the lower basement…

Sly: “Huh? Lemonade vats? Why would they store it like this?”

Bentley: “I’m not sure, but I’d take photos of them, maybe we can discover something.”

It shouldn’t be too hard to climb up there and get pictures of the vats churning a bit off colored lemonade, just a slight shade redder than normal. And they seem to come from the pipes that bring them in.

After getting the pictures, have Sly leave the same way and head to the next bar. Inside is no guards, but a new form of security again, this one being cameras. Unfortunately for Sly, he’s going to have to walk in their sight because there’s no way to avoid them other than to hide behind cover. And he’ll have to if he doesn’t want to get filled with pretty accurate bullets after 3 seconds in their path. At least they can’t penetrate the cover, so it’s okay. Just be quick to make it to the other wall to be out of the camera’s range. This occurs across all 3 floors, but on the bottom one, the camera only comes on once the recon of the vats are taken. That means it’s time to get that raccoon tail out of there.

In the third bar, security is a bit more what Sly likes, spotlights and lasers. Though, getting caught in these spotlights will just call a batch of enemies to try and attack him. Defeating them will shut off the alarm. Lasers, meanwhile, are somewhat dieviating. Some are totally hardlight, preventing crossing through them at all, which are colored yellow. The others are blue, and actually hurt. They more fire intermittently, so timing will be crucial with them. They tend to fire in places of jumps or narrow areas, so it’s just a matter of going at the right time. But as a Cooper who made it through the family gauntlet, this should be child’s play. Sonic asks another question along the way.

Sonic: “You said you guys are thieves, but are also morally right… what do you mean?”

Sly: “Well, Murray is quite the marshmallow when he’s not fighting guards.”

Murray: “Yeah! Heh, I’m just a big, lovable oaf.”

Sly: “Bentley can pretty much hack anything, and does have bombs, but can also incapacite foes with his darts.”

Bentley: “I’m more just the plans and brains, so I’m never fighting much.”

Sly: “And yeah, I do steal and do some shady things, but I can notice when someone weaker is getting ripped off and try to intervene and make it right. It’s why we only steal from other criminals.”

Sonic: “We know a bat named Rouge, and she is a sort of thief and helper to us. She does want jewels and other valuables, but she’s willing to help out even without pay.”

Sly: “She does sound similar to us, yeah. You’re getting the right idea.” 

Once down in the bottom basement, get a few pictures of the lemonade vats here.

Sly: “Something is worrying me. All of this lemonade has this red tinge to it, like it was messed with.”

Bentley: “How odd… But I can’t figure out how they relate to Infinite.

Sly: “I haven’t seen names of Infinite or Eggman anywhere… I don’t get it. I was sure of it.”

Bentley: “Don’t worry too much on it, Sly. We’ll find some other way to Infinite. Come back, Tails has got news.”

Sly: “I guess…”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sly half-heartedly does his victory pose.*

\-----

**Intermission 2**

*The first slide is of the upper factory, which gets a Knuckles drawing punching in, then changes to further slides of the Knuckles drawing punching the weaknesses of the factory.*

Bentley: “Thanks to the intel from Tails, we somewhat have a plan for dealing with the factories.. For the upper one, Knuckles is simply going to punch his way in and destroy the factory to the point of unuse.”

Knuckles: “Hah ha, finally, something for MY talents to handle.”

*The slide changes to the lower factory, which gets a Murray drawing.*

Bentley: “As for the bottom factory, I’m thinking Murray might just have the right expertise.”

Murray: “If I’m not supposed to touch the illusions, maybe I can smash them with my throws!”

Tails: “Huh, that might actually work, especially with all the badniks that are probably going to be in overproduction when he enters.”

Bentley: “That’s about it-”

*Sly can be heard snatching the clicker and changing the slide to the lemonade vats*

Sly, somewhat uncharacteristically angry: “So what? Are we just going to ignore the clear poisoning of the patrons of the bars? Something's clearly wrong here!”

Bentley: “But we have no clear evidence that it’s related to Infinite, or Eggman.”

Sly: “And what?! Let people suffer?! Am I the only one seeing parallels to Arpeggio’s scheme to brainwash Paris with that spice?!”

Bentley: “Sly! Calm down! You’re overthinking things. I don’t-”

Sly slams the table with his palms loudly: “How can you not?! It’s right there!”

Murray: “Sly?... Buddy? I’ve never seen you this angry before.”

Sly grumbles: “I’m gonna get to the bottom of this, so don’t bother following.” *Footsteps are heard and the door slamming.*

Murray: “Sly!”

Sonic: “No… leave him. I’m in agreement there’s something in that lemonade, and considering his attitude, I may have an idea… but let’s see if he can confirm it.”

Bentley: “Alright then… well, let’s get to work.”

~~Thiefnet Upgrades ~~

  * _Shockwave Bracelets_ : 200 Rings [Description: Adds a shockwave effect to Knuckles punches and landings, meaning if he flies into a wall, a shockwave comes out of his hands when he attaches. Perfect for stunning big enemies and tossing smaller ones away.]
  * _Boom Flop_ : 150 Rings [Description: Extends Murray’s Thunder Flop radius larger and a bit stronger.]



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to keep this uploaded regularly, at least between 2 and 4 days. The main story is done at the point of this upload, and I'm working through the Master Thief Challenges to add in extra stuff.


	4. Episode 1: Fun is Infinte?: Job 4 through Operation Intermission

**Factory Halt Part I**

  * Break into the factory.
  * Destroy the factory.



There shall be no chuckling, when Knuckles comes a knocking. With his fists, nearly nothing can avoid being smashed from their power. And with his magnificent [According to him] dreadlocks, he can even glide through the air. If he smack into a building with his fists, nothing but glass and impenetrable steel can prevent his progress anywhere on it. The sun has set further on the horizon, and now everything is covered in shades of deep red. If one didn’t know better, they’d think the sky was angry and on fire. Anyways, Knuckle’s wait spot is right outside the upper factory.

*Knuckles pulls out his binocucom, which is red and shaped like his face and looks through it. Inside, the sides are digital bricks, with little pictures of the prophesied hedgehog, Tikal, and Chaos etched on their faces dancing about.*

Knuckles: “Okay, I’m right outside the factory. My mission is to rip the place apart, right?”

Bentley: “Yeah. Usually Murray’s mission, but now we got two targets to destroy at the same time.”

Knuckles: “There should be no problems for my fists taking this place down.”

Bentley: “That’s good… listen… we’re sorry for stealing your Emeralds. We-”

Knuckles: “You don’t have to apologize. I see now that we have the same thing in common, getting tricked by Eggman.”

Bentley: “O-oh… Okay.”

Knuckles: “Let’s just focus on getting back at him, right?”

Bentley: “Right.”

Knuckles: “Well, see ya once I’m done!”

Well, I think it’s time for a pretty simple mission. Remember where everything was for Tails recon here? Just lead Knuckles to those places and punch stuff to bits, while taking out badniks along the way. And for the higher stuff, Knuckles can climb up them and punch while on them to break them apart. And, um… that’s pretty much it. Break stuff to win. Oh, and after destroying the rockets holding the factory up, there will be only 60 seconds to leave, but that should be more than enough to get out of dodge. Once out, the factory falls like an anvil to the ground below.

Knuckles: “One factory, out of commission.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Knuckles chuckles for his victory animation. [ :O How could he?]*

\-----

**Factory Halt Part II**

  * Break into the factory.
  * Destroy the factory.



Murray bounds his way down to the lower factory’s front doors, doing his best to ignore the deep blood red smog smearing the air and the surroundings.

Murray: “Okay guys, I’m at the front door. I guess I’m doing more than just knocking on it?”

Bentley: “Yep. It’s time to get your fight on. Because Infinite removed all of the factory’s weaknesses, I thought it would be a whole lot easier to just have you toss the enemies back into the machines and break them apart that way.”

Murray: “Oh yeah! I can easily grab the small ones with the  **R1** button. But for bigger ones, I’m gonna have to knock them with a hard punch or find any way to make them dazed to pick them up. Then I just face where I want to aim, then press  **R1** again to throw!”

Tails: “Huh, that might just work. Well, just be careful of the bandnik’s attacks.”

Murray: “Don’t worry, The Murray will run down anyone that stands in my way!”

With only a punch, Murray can smash his way in and bring Hippomania on these robots. Though smashing them can bring rings, they’ll need to be stunned to get thrown into the machines and smash them apart. The best stun move is of course his Thunder Flop, by jumping and attacking in the air to slam the ground and daze enemies.. At most, destroying the badnik producers will take 5 hits to be smashed completely. Oh! It might also be a smart idea to toss a badnik or 2 on the guns so they can stop firing as well.

After those, he should head on further back to find the power source of the factory, which are 6 electric transformers. Thankfully, with all the objects and guard fodder, and only needing 2 hits to destroy each, this should pass by much faster. This mission is finished once they’re destroyed.

Murray: “The factory was no match for The Murray’s power!”

Bentley: “Nice, hurry on back before Infinite checks what’s going on.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Murray dances a bit for his victory pose.*

\-----

**Pipe Lead**

  * Listen in on Infinite.
  * Find where the pipes lead.
  * Sneak into the pub.



*As Murray or Knuckles head back to the hideout, the camera pans among the streets to Sly’s location, secretly watching from the darkened alley nearby.*

Once in control of the rogue Cooper, follow the new waypoint to the back of one of the bars and to one of the lemonade flowing pipes.

Sly, to himself: “I know it… These pipes have  _ got _ to lead to something, and I’m gonna find out what.”

Climb on up it, and follow it for a bit to spot Infinite on the streets below.

Infinite:  “Grr… my bars were broken into… and I know that hedgehog or his friends did it… No matter, there’s no evidence tying it to us…” *He illusions away.*

Continue on the pipe for a while, but an alert comes up warning to hide behind some crates, as Infinite soon appears on the pipe.

Infinite: “Hmph… it was just my imagination… not like they’d be that stupid to follow me… they know I’m a threat, which fills me dearly…” *He disappears again.*

Later on, soon all 3 pipes line up and lead the way to a building, but we’re stopped once again as Infinite is in the back courtyard.

Infinite: “Mmm, time to check the progress on our specimen… surely she’s going to break soon.” *He enters the back door, below where the pipes enter the building.*

Sly: “She? Who could he be talking about?”

The door can’t be opened by Sly, so they’ll have to head on over and enter the front proper and sneak around the little security the bar has to get to the back area.

*Sly ends up getting shocked when he enters the pub’s secret basement. Inside is Carmelita, trapped inside a transparent illusion cube and over a conveyor belt that let her walk around endlessly in place. In front of Sly, who was in a sorta glass-walled office, was a computer mainframe and screen that showed her walking around an endless prison and police HQ that was filled with stuff of Sly that was meant to flare her anger. What was not helping was lemonade flowing in from the pipes he was following earlier and both misting her and making it what she eats and drinks. And that lemonade was flowing around the Red Emerald, which reminded Sly that it made anyone near it angry, so it was only fueling her more. It was at this time that Bentley finally manages to get Sly’s binocucom back online.*

Bentley: “Sly?! I finally got you! Where are you at?”

Sly: “I knew it! The lemonade was poisoned! Infinite’s using the Red Emerald to enhance everyone’s rage to his benefit!”

Bentley: “Huh? He is?”

Sly: “Yes! And he’s got Carmelita too!”

Murray: “W-what? He’s got her?”

Infinite, through the binocucom, but we also see him turning around to spot Sly: “Ah, the trap was finally sprung.”

The Cooper Gang: “TRAP?!”

*Infinite quickly warps himself into the room Sly’s in, blocking the door.*

Infinite: “The doctor did tell me you were highly susceptible to being tricked. Though… it seems that being in contact with the Red Emerald made it even easier. You must have felt a surge of anger when you touched it, yes?”

Sly: “Y-yes… but what does-”

Infinite: “Not being of this chaos-filled world… your little mind can’t handle it and expressed it as an outburst of anger. But in your brain, it altered to accept its powers, to be controlled by it and maybe control it. But you’re too puny for that. Also, you were already prone to a deep rage, with that robot bird.”

Sly: “Why are you even telling me this?”

Infinite: “Why? Because you’ve already lost, Sly.” *He snaps his fingers and illusion cubes make handcuffs on his hands*

Sly: “H-huh?”

*Before he could even blink, he was already downstairs on another conveyor belt. To the left of Sly is Carmelita, more focused on the illusion she’s seeing than them.*

Infinite: “Since you’re already mine, and I doubt your gang can stop me. I’ll tell you my plan. I’m going to make you two my own, personal bodyguards lead by me. It’s not going to take long for the lemonade, along with the Red Emerald, to fully bend your mind to my will. With you under my control, I can finally take down anyone in my way! And I’m first going to turn you 2 on Shadow, Sonic, and the rest of the resistance, as revenge for killing my squad!”

Sly: “You won’t get away with this!”

Infinite: “Oh, but I will, since I already have you, and the Red Emerald has already worked you up some. It’s not going to take long. As for your fox, she’s tough, but my mental powers will break her down eventually. And as for your gang, and Sonic and the others, all I got to say is: Bring! It! On!”

*Infinite works his powers to start Sly’s personal illusion as we fade to black.*

**JOB COMPLETE?**

\-----

**Operation Intermission**

*Bentley brings up a slide of Infinite.*

Bentley: “T-this is not good. Infinite has Sly and Carmelita in his captivity. Our leader is gone and is going to be used against us… this is terrible!!”

Tails: “It’s okay, Bentley, we can do this! You got us! Remember that we did destroy their factories. He can’t call backup anymore.”

Sonic: “And don’t worry, I’m going to take Infinite down personally.”

Bentley: “O-oh… Alright… um… plan… um….. Oh! I guess we can use his ego against him, taunt him away with insults. I got my grapple cam.”

Sonic: “I’ll help you there, Bentley. He’s going to hate my voice.”

Bentley: “Okay… once he’s distracted… I guess Murray and Tails should head in and find a way to free Sly and Carmelita.”

Tails: “I’m betting I’m handing the brainy stuff.”

Murray: “And me the brawn!”

Bentley: “Yeah. Let’s see… once we free them… he could go into hiding, maybe. So maybe if we destroy his bars, it might bring him out for a showdown.”

Sonic: “Yeah, and when he does, I’m going to take him on. I know I can get the jump on him.”

Bentley: “Well, let’s not waste any time then. Let’s get our friends back!”


	5. Episode 1: Fun is Infinte?: Operation Lemonade Bar through Conclusion

**Operation: Lemonade Bar**

  * Lure Infinite away with taunting.
  * Avoid Infinite.
  * Free Sly and Carmelita.
  * Destroy the bars.



As though representing the rage having boiled over, the sun has finally set and most of the red is gone, leaving the darkness and shadows to creep into the city above and down below. The orange lights shine and flicker, casting even more shadows. Everyone leaves the hideout, but Bentley is our main focus, followed by Sonic as they make their way down to a marked waypoint, just behind an alley in front of the bar Sly and Carmelita are held up in.

Bentley: “Let’s see, I’m sure my grapple camera can lure him out. But how are we going to keep him away, because sooner or later, he’s going to see the camera and destroy it.”

Sonic: “Like I said, leave that to me. He thinks he’s fast, but I’m quicker than he’ll ever be.”

Bentley: “Alright then. Let me just bring it out…”

Pressing  **L1** brings out the Grapple cam, which has a few functions.  **X** releases the grapple, and if it hooks something, pressing  **X** again pulls the camera to the new point.  **Square** plays a taunt,  **O** fires a turret gun, and pressing  **L1** again returns play back to Bentley. When ready, send the camera somewhere near the front wall of the bar and taunt Infinite out.

Sonic: “Hey! Weakling!”

Bentley: “Infinite? Strong? Man, he makes me look strong, and I’m pretty weak!”

Sonic: “You couldn’t even hit the broad side of a building, let alone kill us!”

Bentley: “I think the jackal is in need of a good laugh with that permanent frown on his face.”

Sonic: “Too bad you can’t make proper illusions of a friend!”

Bentley: “I thought I was unpopular, but now you make me see I am WAY better than you.”

After the third taunt, Infinite soon slams through the front doors, looking around for the source. Lead Infinite down the street with more taunts, but soon he figures out where it’s coming from and destroys the camera.

Bentley: “Jeez, that was fast.”

Sonic: “I expected this would happen. Go ahead and order your friends in, I’m going to drag him away.”

We briefly control Sonic, leading him down to Infinite.

Sonic: “Hey! Infinite! Looking for me?”

Infinite: “Well, well, the cocky hedgehog shows his face. Just so you know, your taunts didn’t actually affect me.”

Sonic: “I know. Well, let’s get to it, eh? Let’s see you use your power on me!”

Infinite: “With pleasure! DIE HEDGEHOG!!!”

Now Sonic has to run away from the angry jackal at high speed, avoiding the illusions cubes he throws along the way. Dodging them will either involve jumping if it sweeps low, nothing if it goes high, or quick-stepping, using the  **L1 or R1 buttons** , to the left or right if it comes straight at the hedgehog. This happens for a minute until the action changes to Murray and Tails who come out of hiding near the bar.

Tails: “Okay, Sonic can keep him distracted for a few minutes, so let’s go, Murray.”

Murray: “Right!”

The duo enter the establishment and soon the basement Sly and Carmelita are trapped in. To describe the machine is two vats of lemonade flowing back and forth between pipes and being pumped around the Red Emerald, being held up between the pipes. The holding device zaps the gem, and makes it transfer its powers into the lemonade, making it slightly red. There seems to be computers controlling the machines, but it’s hard to determine what controls what.

Tails: “Hmm… by the look of things, this contraption is what controls the lemonade flowing to the bars and gets it energized with the Red Emerald.”

Murray: “Know of any way to take this all down?”

Tails: “Hmmm… honestly, it might just be easier to tear it all down.”

Murray: “Does that mean?!”

Tails: “Have at it!”

Murray: “ALL RIGHT!!!”

There are plenty of wooden legs holding the lemonade vats up from the ground, but it won’t take many punches to smash them up. Just focus on destroying enough that the vats finally tip over and break apart. Once it’s all spilt, Tails can then fly up and smack at the arm with his spin until it releases the Emerald and Tails can grab it.

*After grabbing it, the illusion cubes shatter and Sly and Carmelita stagger their way off to ground.*

Carmelita: “Coop-… Sly? Are you alright?”

Sly: “Y-yeah… but what about you?”

Carmelita: “I’m fine. It’s going to take more than a day to crack me.” [For note, a day has passed from when the gang got the package to now.]

Sly: “O-oh.. good. I was worried he was close to succeeding…”

Carmelita: “He may have been able to try and start the anger by showing me images of you, but what would truly make me angry is if you did something incredibly stupid.”

Sly: “Would that include… going on one last heist for fun?”

Carmelita: “So my hunch was right in assuming this involved you.”

Sly: “O-oh..” *His ears droop*

Carmelita: “But no; Well, it would have angered me in the past, but not now.”

Sly: “Huh?”*His ears stop drooping.*

Carmelita: “Sly… I realize that I’ve been using you and your gang a bit too leniently, and forgetting your thieving past. I forget that it’s hard to change, that you have to thieve. It’s in your blood. Just like how mine is for justice. And for that, I’m sorry.”

Sly: “Y-you don’t have to apologize. I… I am the one who said to do this last job. Which… has gone horribly. We got tricked to work with an enemy, we harmed those who didn’t deserve it, we may have doomed this different world. We lost the van…”

Carmelita: “Oof, the van’s gone? This is serious.”

Sly: “I’m sorry I thieved behind your back… clearly life is telling me I should stop…”

Carmelita: “Sly…”

*She hugs him, to his surprise.*

Sly: “Carm?”

Carmelita: “Think more on it while we work together to fix this.”

Sly: “Right…”

*Sly notices the Red Emerald.* 

Sly: “There it is… huh, how come you aren’t feeling angry. Tails?”

Tails: “If I had to make a guess, I think it’s because we’ve been in contact with them enough to not be affected so easily by the Emeralds, unless we let them. But, um, I think we should get out of here?”

Sly: “Right.”

*One screen wipe later, we’re outside. And not soon enough, Sonic meets up with the gang, followed by Infinite.*

Sonic turns around: “Well, looks like your plan has been ruined, Infinite! We got Sly and Carmelita free, AND have the Red Emerald!”

Infinite: “Do you really think you’ve truly won? That you think I’m that much of an idiot?”

Sonic: “Huh?”

*The ‘Red Emerald’ Tails was holding explodes in illusion cubes.*

Tails: “Whoa! Huh?”

*Infinite shows the real Red Emerald, held in a plexiglass orb on his chest that he makes clear.* “YOU THINK I’D EVER LET THIS OUT OF MY SIGHT?! NEVER!!!”

Knuckles: “Hey! That’s cheating!”

Infinite: “Does it look like I care? You’re never getting this back!” *He disappears in a big blast of illusion cubes.*

Bentley: “Looks like it’s time for Phase 3.”

Sly: “I’m only guessing, but is that dismantling those bars?”

Bentley: “Yeah. Let’s split in teams and break everything we can, especially those vats. I think it’s the only way to get Infinite out of hiding.”

Now split into 3 teams, we take control of each as Murray and Knuckles go into the bar with the sensor traps, and basically destroy all the cases of lemonade, and the vats that are on the bottom floor like Murray did with the earlier ones. Then it’s on to Bentley and Tails, in the spotlight and laser trapped bar. Thankfully, Tails can spin out the lights, and Bentley can just bomb the laser shooters off. And as for the supports of the vats, they too can be spun or bombed apart. Finally, it comes to the three team of Sonic, Sly, and Carmelita, as they deal with the security camera bar. Sonic is quickest across, but perhaps zapping the camera with Carm’s shock pistol [Press  **R1** to bring the aiming system,  **Square** to fire a shot.] will make things much easier. These supports may take a few more hits to break, but it can be done. Once done, leave to finish this operation...

**JOB COMPLETE**

\-----

**Boss: Infinite**

  * Beat Infinite.



*After a screen wipe, everyone is outside the bar they rescued Sly at.*

Bentley: “That should be all, I wonder…”

*Not much to wonder about, as Infinite comes back through a cube portal.*

Infinite: “I have to admire your tenacity to get me angry, but this is just annoying. Do you really think you can even defeat me?”

Sonic steps up: “Last I remember, you were defeated at least twice. What makes this time any different?”

Infinite: “Because now I have the perfect way to defeat you.”

*With a single shot, he fires an illusion cube directly at Sonic, and successfully transports him to the Null Space version of the city. Everything including the streets, the buildings, even the smog are made up of the cubes. Infinite soon pops in*

Infinite: “Now you’re fully in the world of MY creation, where you’ll have NO chance of beating me!”

Sonic: “We’ll see about that!”

With a wave of his hand, Infinite makes his first move with drawing up an army of illusioned Egg Pawns mixed with spikes along the ground. Since we are in his world, they have way too much health to be destroyed, but they might make great stepping stones to reach Infinite and land a hit on him.

Infinite: “Grrr, gravity change!”

*The illusionary world’s gravity quickly changes by flipping 90 degrees to the right, throwing Sonic onto the nearby building.*

Infinite:”No matter how many times you try, you won’t be able to defeat me here! Your strategies will fail!”

Sonic will have to run across the buildings, and avoid the windows as spike traps and Egg Pawn spears stick out of them, and jump over the ‘pits’ between buildings to reach and attack Infinite again.

*Infinite angrily turns gravity upside down, now leaving Sonic on the ‘smog’ layer.*

Infinite: “Your counterattacks, your well-laid plans, anything you do, I will forcibly change so none of it works!”

Infinite slowly is deleting the smog, which also sinks when Sonic steps on it, so he’ll have to be quick to make it to Infinite again and land the third hit.

*Now gravity flips 90 degrees again to the other buildings*.

Infinite: “Your kind weakly cling to the hope that you’ll find a weakness, a flank, a point of attack, but I have none of those!”

Sonic similarly has to run on these buildings at he had to for the second hit, but be wary of the new missiles that periodically fly out of the ‘pits’.

*Gravity soon flips back to its original position.*

Infinite: “You heroes are going to pay for killing my Squad! Your friend brutally hurt them and left them to die and left me without my friends and then left me to die too!”

Missiles are soon fired down along the ranks of the army of Egg Pawns, leaving Sonic to have to be quicker or avoid the falling missiles and explosions.

*Gravity flips back to the buildings.*

Infinite: “Your death will serve well to make EVERY ONE of your friends feel the pain I had felt when Shadow MURDERED my squad and left me a worthless husk that can only be fixed with absolute power!”

More missiles fire between the pits of buildings, and on occasion, Infinite will flip gravity to the other set of buildings.

*Gravity soon flips upside down, and we end up on the underside of the upper streets.*

Infinite: “I don’t get it, why do you make these futile attempts to try and defeat me? Don’t you see your attacks are doing nothing?”

Sonic: “Oh, I’ve been doing something.”

Infinite: “Huh?” *His pupils suddenly shrink as he realized and looks at his chest, and sees the plexiglass orb on his chest holding the Emerald is very cracked. A few more hits, and it will shatter and release the Emerald from his control.*

Sonic: “There’s always a weakness, no matter how hard you try to hide it. And me? I’m only going to beat you to stop your reign of terror!”

Infinite’s rage, which he thought he had contained, but perhaps is now boosted by the Emerald’s power leaking through the cracks, finally boils over as he yells. “AAAAAAHHHHHH!!! YOU STUPID HEDGEHOG!!! WHY DON’T YOU DIIIIEEEEEE?!?!?!?!”

Sonic will have to contend with Egg Pawns attacking, spikes stabbing up, missiles slowly blasting holes in the landscape, and nearly nonstop flipping of gravity as Infinite unleashes his rage on the hedgehog. Avoiding the holes will be key to avoid dying here, but just remember to keep in the air with homing attacks and land 2 more blows on Infinite. 

*Upon that 8th hit, the plexiglass orb shatters and releases the Red Emerald, while also shattering the Null Space illusion and returning them all to the real world.*

Infinite is in a heap on the ground and slams his fists on the pavement, throwing close to a  temper tantrum. “No! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!!! I wasn’t supposed to lose!!! You shouldn’t have been able to beat me!”

Sonic: “Sheesh, Infinite, have some dignity in your loss.”

Carmelita: “Perhaps he can get back that lost dignity, in jail.”

*She makes her way over to Infinite to get handcuffs on him, but before she can, the Red Emerald blasts an electric charge that seems to encompass her*

Sly: “Carm’!” 

*He tries to go for her, but the charge explodes and knocks everyone away, and in the place where they were was nothing, no Emerald or Carmelita.*

Sly: “No…”

**JOB COMPLETE**

\-----

**The** **Red Emerald** **’s Wrath**

  * Escape with the Red Emerald.



Panel #1: Carmelita’s Office

*Carmelita slowly opens her eyes and sees that she’s in Interpol headquarters, but it looks off, like everything is flat and papery*

Carmelita: “Huh?”

*A paper version of Barkley *SLAMS* [The sound effect is written out as each happens] in through the door*

Chief Barkley [All use a speech bubble here, by the way]: “Inspector! Something terrible has happened! Some of the villains have escaped!”

Carmelita: “They won’t be getting far on my watch.”

With control of Carmelita again, walk up to the door Barkley came in from, press  **Up** on the Dpad on it [It appears above the door as a prompt], and Carmelita will head on to the next panel, us following by panning right.

Panel #2: Main Lobby

*Carmelita comes out the other door and into the main floor of the building. Unfortunately, it’s quite loud and many perps and officers are walking around.*

Carmelita: “Bah, it’s always such a circus in here, but this is ridiculous. Maybe…”

Head on over to a spot marked by a big blue sparkle and press the  **O** button on it. When done, the ‘crowd’ fades away to nothingness, allowing passage.

Carmelita: “Ah, that’s better. Now, to lockup.”

Head on over to the other side of the room, and  **Down** the stairs to the next panel.

Panel #3: Criminal Lockup

Down here, just examine the rooms, walking near the empty cages to have her talk. The bars are comically bent

Carmelita: “Hmm, looks like Rajan, General Tsao, El Jefe, and Mz. Ruby all escaped their cages… Of course it had to be them. Fine… now how did they escape…”

Have her search the far right area for what appears to be a cave in of the ground above, providing their escape. Head  **Up** to find...

Panel #4: Police Courtyard

*It is of the police courtyard where they park their squad cars, armored vans and the like. It looks mighty familiar to Sly 1’s...*

Carmelita: “AY!!! Here?! They must be long gone by now!!!”

At this point, she’s a bit on edge, but a blue sparkle appears among the cars, so go over there to calm her down.

Carmelita: “No… they’re much smarter than to just leave. I wonder…”

Some footsteps appear along the ground and background, and stop at the second floor fire escape and window. One of her Super Jumps,  **R1** then  **X** , will spring her right up there, and then press  **Left** to enter the room.

Panel #5: Evidence Lockup

*It seems they’ve been through here, and tore up the place. Papers, tossed cabinets, and the plants complete the big mess*

Carmelita: “Can’t a criminal ever just NOT make a mess? Ay… this is gonna take some time…”

Another sparkle…

Carmelita: “Unless… yes!”

Blue sparkles appear on the worst-damaged cabinet. Go examine it.

Carmelita: “They stole their criminal records! But why…”

We’re pointed to the claw marks and broken door, so leave by pressing  **Left** on it. 

Panel #6: Interpol Office Hallways

This one is actually straight forward, just follow the destruction up to the third floor and to another room by pressing  **Right** on it.

Panel #7: Ventilation System

*Okay, the writer must be clearly making a reference to Sly 1’s opening, it looks nearly like it, minus the lasers.*

Carmelita: “I must admit, this is quite an elaborate escape…”

Go on, Super Jump the way up the ventilation and onto the roof.

Panel #8: Interpol Roof

*When Carmelita comes out, the camera pans to show paper versions of Rajan, General Tsao, El Jefe, and Mz. Ruby hiding behind breakables.*

Carmelita: “Do they really think they’re hiding? Sheesh. Well, time to round them up!”

Anyone remember Comix Zone?... Eh. All that matters from it is that the barriers hiding them will have to be destroyed first with either punches [ **Square** ], kicks [ **Triangle** ] or shock pistol zaps [Simplified as  **L1** ]. When they do, then it’s just simple combat to hit them enough to turn them into paper heaps.

*Once that’s done*

Carmelita: “Don’t you guys know that you can’t escape the long arm of the law?”

They *POOF* and out of them comes the Red Emerald, at the end of the Roof. Grab it to escape this comic book.

*As soon as she grabs it, another electric charge encompasses them and they get ripped back into the real world. Everyone turns around when they see the flash. Infinite has handcuffs on, done by Sly, who’s holding his arms.*

Carmelita looks around: “Hm? No more paper?”

*Sly immediately gives Infinite to Knuckles, who was closest, and hurriedly runs up to and hugs her.*

Sly: “Carm! You’re alive! I know they said you were probably okay, but it’s so great to see you again!”

Carmelita: “Of course I’m okay, Sly. But I don’t really get where I was? It was all made of paper, and was of Interpol HQ in Paris…”

Knuckles: “Sounds like you were in the pocket dimension that protects that Emerald you’re carrying, and you showed it that you were worthy enough to touch it.”

Carmelita: “Pocket dimension?”

Bentley rolls up: “I listened to how they explained it, and though we are in a different world with different sciences most likely, it does check out. I guess, to put it a bit simpler words, their equations add on Chaos, the life force of their world, which does have a constant. And those Emeralds that we accidentally stole are the controllers of Chaos.”

Sly: “And when you got too close, it sucked you in to test you. And it seems like you passed, since you returned with the Emerald.” 

Carmelita: “Yeah. It was kinda odd. A paper version of the chief told me we had some escapees, who ended up being Rajan, General Tsao, El Jefe, and Mz. Ruby. I had to search for them then beat them up. Then I got this Emerald and it brought me back.”

Sonic: “Hmmm… Tails? Knuckles? You think it’s true?”

Tails: “They haven’t been wrong before.”

Sly: “What? It means something?”

Knuckles: “The Emeralds can communicate with each other, and have some prediction powers. I think it was telling you that those four villains you listed are in ownership of four of them.”

Carmelita: “What?!”

Sly: “And from what we saw from Infinite… these things are forces to be reckoned with?”

Knuckles: “In the right hands, it can be used for the betterment of all kind. In the wrong hands… ultimate destruction.”

Murray: “Oh no… this is terrible!”

Bentley: “I… I think that’s an understatement, Murray.”

Sly: “We… we really have to make things right. Fix my mistake.”

Carmelita: “We will… together.”

Sly: “You’re not mad?”

Carmelita: “I know you didn’t meant to let it get this far. So let’s get this fixed.”

Knuckles: “I guess Sonic was right. So thanks for helping get my Emeralds back.”

Sonic: “Well, it’s one down, six to go. Eggman better watch out.”

Tails: “Nothing’s gonna stop the 7 of us!”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Everyone stands together and does a victory pose. Most important is Carmelita holding the shining Red Emerald.*

\-----

**Conclusion** :

*Infinite is shown being thrown into a G.U.N. truck, then being driven away.*

Sly, narrating: “With Infinite captured, we turned him into the proper authorities of this world, a group called G.U.N. and supposedly this world’s version of Interpol.”

*The comic focuses on Sly, thinking and the pictures of Rajan, General Tsao, El Jefe, and Mz. Ruby appear behind him.*

Sly, narrating: “But there was no time to dwell on that. This Dr. Eggman… somehow he was able to break 4 of our major villains out of jail… and with their newfound gain, I knew that they were just itching to test it out on me, as revenge.”

*Sonic and the others soon come in and create a group hug for Sly.*

Sly, narrating: “But… maybe we’ll be okay. I got plenty of friends to help me out… maybe we can do this.”


	6. Episode 2: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Persona: Introduction through First Intermission

**Introduction** :

*The gang are shown back on the Tornado, and Carmelita has to stand on the wing as well.*

Sly, narrating: “We were soon back in the air again, following clues of what people in this world were talking about. But honestly, it felt nice being in the air with my sweet Carmelita… guess you could say I’m handcuffed with love.”

*Sly’s vision soon looks up. A mountain is soon made from the stars that looks like a rhino. And soon, Rajan pounces on screen and has his paws right on it.*

Sly, narrating: “But no time for that, because one clue soon gave us what we needed. Someone who left their home on a mountain that looked like a Rhino and came to the city, warning us that a certain tiger was messing things up. And from their description, it told us that Rajan was their culprit.”

*Rajan’s life soon scrolls by, from being a young, poor tiger, to becoming rich beyond his wildest dreams,  to his ruthless reign as Spice Lord, to his forced rehabilitation to a carpet salesman.*

Sly, narrating: “Most people are not very surprised to learn that Rajan was born from a poor family, forced to scrounge just to get by in life. A lucky break soon came to him, when he discovered a dangerous spice in India that made partakers go mad with rage when ingested. Of course, if it’s exotic, most people will pay top dollar for it, even if it had the chance to kill them. With this new wealth, he did everything he could to hide his past from everyone by buying everything expensive and make him look affluent. Though, perhaps with time, or just from inhaling too much of the spice, he became quite ruthless and evil, even willing to work with the Klaww gang to hypnotise people with the spice he had. Thankfully, we came in and stopped his reign, and it looked like rehabilitation brought out a carpet salesman in him.”

*Rajan soon snaps when shown next to Eggman, regaining his old clothes during Sly 2. And he soon gets the Yellow Emerald in his hand, which gleams as we zoom into his eyes, hypnotized by it*

Sly, narrating: “Eggman, however, seems to have found what has reawoken the predator that hid behind the carpet, and it going to conquer their land in the name of him. Sonic, though, seems to suggest something more may be going on because he got the Yellow Emerald. We’ll know, once we get there.”

Sly Cooper, his Gang, and Team Sonic in

*Flames ignite the darkness, showing one of the rooms in the temple, a rhino statue in the background. A yellow light shines the room and bring out the title card: ‘ **Crouching Tiger, Hidden Persona** ’ A tiger growl fades us out to the world.*

\-----

**Hub Layout** :

The gang has made their hideout in an abandoned home… well, in the abandoned village that Rajan had scared the locals from. Their village sits right at the foot of a mountain shaped like a Rhino. It’s quite a special mountain to them, as it is actually a humongous temple they use as a place of worship. The villagers here are actually quite a peaceful and enlightened sort, kinda sorta Sonic’s own version of Buddhism, considering the rhino statues have a similar hand posture and showing of the belly. It looks to be that this temple was built many years ago.but was still in very good condition despite probably many destructive events. Maybe something more is at work…

While most of the insides of the rhino are temple rooms and areas of peace, a new building on one of the hands sticks out like a sore thumb. It is a very large building, and a curious person would quickly call it the Taj Mahal, and you wouldn’t be wrong. Rajan fashioned one of his own right here, most likely with Eggman’s help. He most likely wants to use it as a starting point for his new rule here as royalty. It’s mostly well guarded with searchlights and the like, but a trained Cooper will always find a way in.

Enemies:

  * **Ibex** : Rams in Sonic’s world are a bit different. In this case, they have more larger horns that can break through most defenses, and prevents attacks to the head. The only other thing they can do is yell through a megaphone to call nearby enemies to help. Attacks to their backs will work best. Oddly, they and the other guards all have yellow eyes, which go away when they poof. They drop 5-7 rings and pickpocketing them usually gives a small sized item.
  * **Baboon** : Compared to Sly’s baboons, these butt monkeys have a much longer tail that they can use to cling onto most anything and swing nearly anywhere with ease. For an attack, they have spears that they swing about, acting like they’re Jackie Chan. If their spear happen to catch fire from a torch, they’ll blow it out like a flamethrower, so be careful. They drop 6-8 rings and pickpocketing them usually gives a medium sized item.
  * **Rhino** : Most likely a poacher’s dream, their horns are much larger in size here in this world that quick dodging is key if they drop them down to attack. If that doesn’t work, they swing and throw daggers to deter the pest. Again, attacks from the back are the best. They drop 7-9 rings and pickpocketing them usually gives a large sized item.
  * **Snake Eyes** : Slithery badniks that look around for prey. Nearly each body section as a spike on top and spike on the sides, front and back. Unless they are hit with a ranged attack, only a hit to their spikeless heads can defeat them. But be quick, as their heads only stay up for a second or 2 each time. Drops 3 rings when smashed.
  * **Snake Charmer Pawns** : Dressed in Indian garb and carrying flutes, they will charm any nearby Snake Eyes if they spot their enemy first. If none come, they quickly use their flutes like a spear, but mostly aiming to keep the player away. Drops 4 rings when smashed
  * **Rhyno** : A heavy duty tank made with the face of a rhino. [Try not to confuse it for the similarly named Rhinotank.] The nose fires off like a flying spike and explodes if it hits something. It’s a pretty fair offence, but its defense comes from the strong metal protecting the sides and top. The only way to destroy it is to knock it over and expose its weak underside and hit that part to blow it up. Drops 5 rings when smashed.
  * **Tigger** : A tigger is NOT a wonderful thing when Eggman’s involved. As their name suggests, these badniks hop on coiled tails and attempt to land on us to cause pain. It’s not too difficult, but can be a bit of a problem for Sly’s gang who can’t attack from all sides. Drops 3 rings when smashed.
  * **Fool’s Gold** : A thief’s worst nightmare. These piles of gold lay inconspicuous until someone walks back, which then come to life into a floating pile. They follow silently, and toss coins fast to attack like bullets. As fast as they attack, they aren’t very strong and can be broken in 1-2 hits. Drops 4 rings when smashed.
  * **Billiard Balls** : Fear the almighty wrath of the BILLIARD BALL! All Sonic fans cower at these colorfully numbered balls that bounce around nonchalantly until they become self aware and show a timer where the number would be. It can be any number and count down as fast or slow as it wants, but when it hits zero, it speeds fast towards us and explodes! YES! THE BILLIARD BALL GETS REVENGE FROM 06! … Okay, on a serious note, they can be quite sudden, but they give plenty of time before they explode and get defeated at 3 hits at the most. Even the slow Murray can defeat them quick and can throw them and let them roll around safely. Drops 5 rings when defeated.



Treasures:

From Guards:

  * _Small Topaz_ : Mostly stolen from lower guards. Worth 20 rings
  * _Medium Topaz_ : Mostly stolen from medium guards. Worth 25 rings.
  * _Large Topaz_ : Mostly stolen from large guards. Worth 30 rings.



On Pedestals:

  * _Bag of Exotic Spice_ : Most likely something of Rajan’s that he loves a lot… steal it. Seems he left it in a trap room in the temple. It nets 40 rings when sold.
  * _Tiger’s Eye_ : ♪ It’s a jewel that looks like a tiger’s eye, most likely having wealth it brings. Bring it back to the safehouse for 60 rings. ♫
  * _Giant Ruby_ : Hmm, oddly looks like the Ruby Sly stole for the gang to sell for a buyer back in India… similar? It’s found near the top of the Rhino Temple, near to the Tiger’s Eye. Aw, well. Bring it back for 80 rings.



~~Jobs~~

**Temple Recon**

  * Recon the temple.
  * Recon around the palace.



*Sly exits the safehouse and climbs atop the abandoned household. Stars twinkle in the black sky above, and the only light is the big moon that casts shadows and moonlight on the abandoned village. Rajan and his crew have worked fairly fast, having lined every street corner with stands and barrels full of spices. Some, however, are empty and labeled with Special Red Spice, which should bring memories of the illegal spice he used back in Sly's India. His minions can be spotted putting up various orange decorations lining across roofs, pictures of Rajan as a king on walls, and building statues of him with ruby red eyes and carrying a larger ruby in his hands.*

*Sly takes out his binocucom and focuses on the Rhino Temple.*

Sly: “Whoa… this is a huge temple, and it’s shaped like a rhino. It reminds me of Rajan’s temple back in India.”

Bentley: “Knowing Rajan, it’s highly certain that that is why he chose here.”

Sly: “Yeah. So, right, recon as usual. Anything that gives us clues to Rajan’s plans?”

Bentley: “You know it.”

Sly: “Getting on it.”

Sly heads on down and we make our way into the temple, which is entered from one of the knees. But as soon as he enters, a pressure plate sensor gets activated and spikes come out of the ground, which Sly quickly avoids.

Sly: “WHOA! Traps!”

Tails: “Oh no… this isn’t good. This is supposed to be a peaceful village and these traps can’t be theirs at all.”

Sonic: “I can bet Eggman had something to do with them.”

Sly: “Possibly Rajan as well. I’m going to see if I can get some pictures of them”

Looks like it’s time to get some pictures of the traps around the place. All of them are pretty easy to find. Most are pressure pads, though some may also be tripwires. So get some pictures of the spike traps, hammer swings, rock roller and ceiling rock dropper and the usual badnik dropper.

It seems Rajan has influenced his way in here as well, as most of the meditation rooms have been converted to hold guns, spices owned by Rajan, or treasures stolen from the villagers' homes. The walls and ceilings are lined with orange lights and decorations, and more stone statues of Rajan loom menacingly in the main chamber. Perhaps Rajan is seeing himself as a god and wants others to see him as such when they pray in here.

Once that’s done, it’s time to move on. Sly can make his way over to the right hand of the Rhino Temple, to be greeted by Rajan’s palace. How about getting some pictures of the spotlights and electric fence?

Sly: “Well, Rajan has learned from last time. There’s no real way to get in.”

Bentley: “The power source for the security has to be somewhere. Why not look around with the binocucom?”

Sly does and we can soon zoom in on the left hand of the temple to spot electric bolts zapping into the air.

Sly: “Aha! Found it. But it’s very high up.”

Bentley: “Don’t worry, Sly, I think our friends can help us out with that too. So come on back then.” 

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sly does a three swing combo with his cane before putting it back in victory.*

\-----

**Intermission 1**

*Our first slide is of the Rhino Temple in its entirety.*

Bentley: “Huh, this might be the first time where I can report we have no idea what the main villain, in this case, Rajan, is planning. But I have a plan to remedy that.”

*Slide changes to that recon photo of the electric bolt over the left hand.*

Bentley: “We know there has to be an electric generator powering at least the security around Rajan’s palace, so smashing it will be key to getting in. But… we haven’t found a way up there yet.”

Knuckles: “Leave that to me, Bentley. My fists should be able to get me right up there.”

Bentley: “Alright, and if you run into trouble, I’m sure Murray can provide some extra power.”

*Slide changes to the inside of the temple.*

Bentley: “Of course, there’s also the problem of the traps in the temple itself. It’s both desecration and a thorn in our sides.”

Sonic: “Say, Bentley, how about you leave this to me? I think I know of the perfect way to destroy these traps.”

Bentley: “Alright then. I’m feeling pretty certain that after this, Rajan might come out from his palace to examine what went wrong, so we can then find out what he’s truly up to then.”

~~Thiefnet Upgrades~~

  * _Enhanced Treasure Sense_ : 300 Rings [Description: Knuckles dig move can sometimes make more rings appear, or even give him one of the pickpocketable treasures at random.]
  * _Speed Break_ : 200 Rings [Description: The reverse of time break, it speeds up time twice as fast, kinda like Sly’s Fast Time trick that Sonic can now do with a choice key and for a bit of his Reflex gauge.]




	7. Episode 2: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Persona: Job 2 through Second Intermission

**Tripping Traps**

  * Deactivate all the traps.



Sonic steps out of the safehouse and time has went ahead a tiny bit, noticeable by the moon more higher in the sky and the shadows laying differently across the landscape. We head off into the temple and into the main area of it as he pulls out his binocucom.

*Sonic’s binocucom is a similar shade of blue to his main body and the viewscreen is similar to his eyes. Along the sides are  **neon green** lightning bolts going up and down. For now, they are vertical and non-changing, though, around Rajan’s palace, they get a little wavy. On top is a hanging ring.*

Bentley: “So what’s your plan for destroying all these traps, Sonic?”

Sonic: “Easy, I make them destroy themselves with my super speed.”

Bentley: “I see… WAIT WHAT?!”

Tails: “Heh he, still surprised, Bentley?”

Bentley: “I-I mean, I don’t get how he can move so fast? Even Sly’s Thief Reflexes don’t act on speed really.”

Sonic: “I’ve just been building my top speed over the years really.”

Tails: “We are thinking that it’s supplemented by the  **Chaos Energy** in our world. Our bodies accept it and it had reconfigured our muscles in various ways, like Sonic’s super speed and my flight and Knuckles’ fists. *Thinks a second* Simply put, it’s like a comic book superpower.”

Bentley: “That comparison oddly helps a lot.”

Murray: “Wow! So cool! Think we could get these powers?!”

Tails: “That, we don’t know yet. But it could happen.”

Sonic: *Ahem* “Task at hand, please?”

Bentley: “Huh? Oh! Yeah! Uh… so how does using super speed help destroy the traps?”

Sonic: “Simple, I’ll activate my Time Break with the  **L2 Button** and then run over close traps and make them destroy each other.”

Bentley: “Well, I wish you luck then.”

For Sonic to destroy the pairs of hammer swings, he simply has to use his Time Break move to run between the two tripwires for them and be out of their way when they swing and slam into each other and break apart.

For the ceiling rock dropper and the badnik dropper, Sonic will first have to make a rock/badnik fall by pressing on the pressure sensor, but while the object falls, he’ll need to use Time Break then kick the robot/rock with the  **R2 button** and send it back to the trap and destroy it.

Sonic: “Hmm, for those droppers, I can kick while in Time Break with the  **R2 Button** .”

For the rock rolling traps… actually, Eggman and Rajan didn’t think them out too well because, like the hammer swings, Sonic can set them off to either bang and break each other, or hit leftover single hammer swings and break them both. Also while the rock is rolling, it can break the spike traps too. But if there’s any left over spike traps, just  **jump** and press  **Square** to have Sonic stomp down on the traps and break them.

Sonic: “For those spike traps, a good stomp can break them if I **jump** then press **Square** to smash them.”

In total, there are about 30 traps.

*Upon the last’s destruction.*

Sonic: “That’s the last one. This temple is safe to walk in once more.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sonic does a breakdance for his victory animation.*

\-----

**Lending a Hand**

  * Find a way onto the suspicious area.
  * Destroy the Generators.



*Knuckles stands atop one of the villages tallest rooftops and pulls out his binocucom and looks up at the left hand*

Bentley: “Is your fists able to climb up solid rock like this?”

Knuckles: “Heh he, climbing up vertical rock walls are nothing for me. I just gotta glide my fists into the surface and climb with the  **Left Analog Stick** any way I want.”

Bentley: “Well, I won’t stop you any further.”

Have Knuckles glide over to the wall of the Rhino temple and he’ll immediately get purchase with it. Then it’s a fairly easy climbing experience up the temple to the hand outcropping, though, a glide is necessary to reach it from the main body.

Knuckles: “Aha, the bolt did come from electric generators… but it’s surrounded by an electric fence.”

Bentley: “I’ll send up Murray then, but… we don’t know how to get there, so can you find a way into the temple?”

Knuckles: “Will do.”

Knuckles heads down into the tunnel and mostly finds the usual spike traps and arrows coming out of the walls but these ones DO look like they were for protection, since they look old and easily broken after getting hit by the trap. Break them or not, just focus on moving on down the tunnel to find a strangely bricked wall.

Knuckles: “Hmm… there must be a way… is that a pushed out brick?”

Indeed, there is a brick that is sticking out of the perfectly bricked wall. Perhaps it should be pushed in?

*With a punch, the brick goes in and a clicking sound is heard, followed by clicking sounds as the wall raises up*

Knuckles: “Aha. That’s their secret. Well, better search for a way to the main temple itself…”

Indeed, it seems we’re not done as there are more walls that have push switches that need to go in to lift another wall. There are two ways to go from where we left off, but our important way is to go down. Continue on raising the walls until we finally reach the main room of the temple, right where Murray’s waiting.

Murray: “Huh? Oh! You surprised me, Knuckles.”

Knuckles: “Sorry, there were more walls than I thought. But come on, it’s this way.”

The duo make their way back to the generators, walking and talking.

Murray: “Huh, so we are kinda the muscles of our gangs, aren’t we?”

Knuckles: “Heh, you could say that, though I’m not with them all the time. I’d rather be on Angel Island, watching over the Master Emerald. Though, I guess the oft stealing makes for outside adventures.”

Murray: “We’re really sorry for stealing them. We didn’t know.”

Knuckles: “Yeah, I see that now. I’m just usually, as Sonic puts it, hotheaded.”

Murray: “I’m actually a pretty calm guy, unless you harm my friends or I ate Rajan’s spice that got people angry.”

Knuckles: “Well, I like to think I’m pretty peaceful too, if I’m not irritated.”

Murray: “Think we can be friends?”

Knuckles: “Maybe.”

*Once they reach the generators.*

Knuckles: “I’d punch the thing, but I’d get shocked by the electricity.”

Murray: “Leave it to me! I’ll just toss things at it instead. Let’s see, that’s still just pressing the  **R1 Button** to grab objects, and  **Square** to throw them.”

Using the various leftover barrels, toolboxes, rocks from the tunnel, and anything else handy, Murray can both break open the fence and destroy the generators after only a few hits.

*The generator explodes in the usual comical fashion, and the camera pans to Rajan’s palace. Everything goes dark for a second, before the backup generator kicks in and only the interior lights come back on.*

Bentley: “Looks like they must have an interior power source, but it can’t power the outside security. At least we can get in now.”

Murray: “Sweet!”

Knuckles: “Heh, we’re heading back now.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Murray and Knuckles do a fist bump for their victory animation.*

\-----

**Raise Up Your Ears**

  * Listen in on Rajan.



*For once, we don’t leave the safehouse as Bentley and Tails head to another room, where something is under a sheet. The others soon come in.*

Sly: “Why did you guys call us in here? Aren’t I going to tail Rajan for information?”

Bentley: “We thought about that, but it might be too dangerous for once.”

Sly: “Dangerous? Why? It hasn’t stopped you before.”

Tails: “Thanks to his supposed earning of the Yellow Emerald, I have a theory that Rajan… may be extra paranoid, and will easily spot any of us.”

Sonic: “Ah… so you guys made something, eh?”

Bentley: “Correct. Tails and I corroborated on a project to listen in on Rajan and this is the result!”

*They pull off the cover on the invention and show off what is a new T-Pup, which looks a bit more like Tails with a metal turtle shell for its back, but has tank tread legs and a helicopter on top of its head. It lays sideways like the T-Pup too. Its ears have listening devices and inside its mouth is a speaker. All the parts of it move like a real fox. [Well, without going into the uncanny valley.]*

Sonic: “Ooo. It looks to be an even better T-Pup.”

Sly: “With Grapple Cam enhancements.”

Tails and Bentley: “Yep!”

Bentley: “We did everything possible to make sure everything on it is soundproof and silent, even to a tiger’s super sensitive hearing.”

Tails: “It’s something that should be able to listen in on Rajan without making a single sound.”

Carmelita, looking out the window with her binocucom: “Better get going, the tiger has left his cage.”

Bentley: “Okay guys, stand back while we get it airborne.”

*They get it flying and it leaves through the skylight they made in the house, and starts the mission proper.*

What a useful little invention the fox and turtle have made. It flies around quite similarly to the T-Pup, though a bit more streamlined from having the helicopter blades on its head. It also can’t fly forever, so it has to land somewhere to recharge for more flight. Oh! All of the Grapple Cam functions have been moved/changed around a bit, the grapple action moved to the  **O button** like the T-Pup, but works like the Grapple Cam grapple. The usefulness of the grapple is crucial to stealth as it can latch onto walls and recharge while hanging from a wall or ceiling.  **R1 button** becomes the Taunt and  **L1 button** becomes the Turret Gun, now new and improved to hurt enemies better [The original functions for them can’t work now since calling back the T-Pup/Grapple Cam is useless.] I think that’s it…

Oh, right, the mission. Well, Rajan has a waypoint marker listed on him at all times, so just follow it to quickly get after him. Once close, keep on his tail to listen to him talk about what he’s thinking. But make sure not to be moving when he’s looking around in paranoia or he’ll see and that will fail the mission.

Rajan: “Who dares to overthrow the mighty and terrifying king, Rajan?! Don’t you know I’m next in line to being royalty?! … Oh… no one… then who cut out my lights…. Must be some hooligans who think I’m not worthy, but I am!”

Bentley: “Oh gods, he’s crazier than usual! He really thinks he’s king!”

Tails: “It’s not actually him. It’s a persona of him made by the Yellow Emerald.”

Bentley: “Really?”

Tails: “Keep listening.”

*In another spot.*

Rajan: “Better practice my speech. *Ahem* ‘I am the mighty King Rajan, your true ruler! I have found the mystical power of your people and am claiming it for myself! You will bow for me, and do as I say, or be served to the animals!’ Yes, that sounds good, what do you think?”

A second voice of Rajan, nearly the same but sounding weaker: “H-hey? Where’s the part of giving them spice? Or of how I am going from rags to riches?”

Rajan’s Persona: “NO! We don’t mention that, you weak pathetic fool. That’s why I’m in command! Your poverty made you weak and that’s why you were left selling carpets!”

Rajan: “But I-”

Rajan’s Persona: “Shut up! This is why you’re never coming out again!”

Knuckles: “Oh… he’s heavily affected by the Emerald. Tikal mentioned once that if the user is not truly happy with themself, it can create a persona to take over the old identity to make them appear better to others.”

Bentley: “Like a mask?”

Knuckles: “Yeah, but worse. The Yellow Emerald specialized in defense, so it creates a literal shell around the real identity, and has the fake persona in control. And the persona is real difficult to break. Only the user, or another stronger force like the other Emeralds can break through the persona, literally and figuratively.”

Bentley: “Hmm…”

*Later.*

Rajan’s Persona: “I wonder if I can trust these idiots on grabbing the mystical power within this temple. Not only is it a maze to get there, it can easily shatter… Need to think on this. Thankfully, it’s well hidden right under this temple and its entrance is right behind that bejeweled, golden Rhino statue. I might change it into a Tiger…” *He runs off.*

Bentley: “Behind the golden Rhino statue, eh? We’re going to get it first then.”

Tails: “Let’s get the T-Pup back.”

*If we get caught at any point.*

Rajan’s Persona: “A viper in the grass! DIE!!!”

**JOB COMPLETE** *The T-Pup does what else but the Robot as its victory dance.*

\-----

**Intermission 2**

*The first slide is of the interior of the temple, facing the golden Rhino.*

Bentley: “Thanks to Rajan’s hint of the false wall in the back of the temple, and mentioning of a mystical power within, it’s clear we better steal it before Rajan can even get his hands on it. What I’m not sure about is who to send.”

Murray: “Can I do it?”

Bentley: “What? You want to volunteer?”

Murray: “Yeah!... I think I felt this mystical power he mentioned. Maybe it’s because of my training with the Guru…”

Bentley: “Well, if you can be careful with it, go right ahead.”

Murray: “Sweet!”

Tails: “Meanwhile, readings seem to suggest Rajan does have the Yellow Emerald hiding somewhere in his palace, but we should check for certainty.”

Bentley: “With enough thought, we’ve decided… Carmelita will infiltrate the compound.”

Sly and Carmelita: “What? Me/Her? Why?”

Bentley: “Because she’s the only one Rajan has not seen the face of. If we go in, Rajan will definitely know it’s us and spring whatever traps he has, but Carmelita may be able to get away with it.”

Carmelita: “That’s… sound thinking.”

Bentley: “Though, I can’t tell if you may need a disguise to get in. Just use your best judgement.”

Carmelita: “Alright then.”

Bentley: “Let’s get moving then.”

~~Thiefnet Upgrades~~

  * _Health Upgrade 1_ : 300 Rings. [Description: Everyone gets 25% more health added to their defense, meaning they can take a few more hits.]
  * _Reflex Upgrade 1_ : 300 Rings [Description: Everyone gets 25% more skill power added to their Reflex meters, meaning the skills can be used a few more times.]




	8. Episode 2: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Persona: Job 5 through Operation Intermission

**Keeping the Peace**

  * Find the special power in the maze.
  * Bring the power back to the safehouse.



Murray heads on out of the safehouse and to the temple, as the shadows of the village buildings have moved again, the moon up higher in the sky. The moon itself is brighter and… hey… is that a second, dimmer moon floating around with the first? It looks to be blasted on one side. It’s the moon Eggman shattered with the Eclipse Cannon, still left broken today. It’s usually rare to see both moons out as such.

Murray: “So I have to find some way down into the maze below, find the power, and bring it back, right?”

Bentley: “That’s the short of it, yeah. I’m not sure how you’re going to get around in there though, or even get in.”

Murray: “I might have an idea.”

Head on over to the back wall behind the Rhino statue and on the floor are scrap markings. Give the wall a punch and it’ll start moving to let us inside.

Down below, after following the hallway, Murray is quite stunned to walk into a wall made out of gold. The camera pans off of Murray and higher up the room to show that this is apparently their treasure room, but made is such a way that some of the treasure, gold and dollar bill bundles and even gems, were used to make a maze that seems to hold the greater treasures deep within, the Mystical Power in dead center. The walls seem to be surrounded with tapestries with writing on them, most likely riddles as every treasure has traps to protect it. Treasure piles mostly line around the walls, and 4 pedestals are along the corners of the room. It seems they are related to the trap deactivation.

To all this, Murray gasps in amazement, and calls the safehouse.

Bentley: “Is something the matter, Murray?”

Murray: “Not really, but maybe you can get me to Tails and the others?”

Bentley: “Oh, sure.”

*Tails and the others comes in.*

Tails: “What is it?”

Murray: “Look.” *He reveals the treasure maze.*

Sonic, Tails, Bentley, and Knuckles: “Whoa…”

Knuckles: “I’ve never seen a treasure maze before…”

Bentley: “It’s quite elaborate, even more so than the one back in Arabia, from a… past trip.”

Sonic: “Hm, it must belong to the people here. Wouldn’t make sense otherwise.”

Tails: “It looks to be a trap too, if the riddles are anything to go by.”

Murray: “Do you guys think you can help me solve them?”

Tails: “Of course!”

Murray’s got his work cut out for him, as he has to navigate the maze to find treasure at the end of each one, carry it out, and place them on the correct pedestal to get the next entrance to appear. In the maze, he will need to push or grab treasure chests and place them on switches or out of the way to shut off the traps and reveal the treasure he needs to carry out. As for the riddles:

**Riddle 1** : When the world shattered, darkness spewed, leaving the world marred with purple stains. Yet, with one blue hedgehog, the world was reassembled all over again. Can you figure where the  **Evil Eye** goes before the beast ravages you as foe?

**Riddle 2** : Long ago, aliens once roamed the world and made their mark. Recently, a black hedgehog eliminated them right out of our cosmic park. Can you figure where to put the  **Ruin Jewel** , before they return to reclaim their black and red fuel?

**Riddle 3** : An ancient civilization from afar crashed their ship and time made them mostly lost. The only proof of them left are those roguish Babylonian thieves that a black hole nearly made tossed. Can you figure where to put the  **Elegant Vase** of yore, before they, as to quoth the raven genie, ‘Nevermore’?

**Riddle 4** : An old tribe used to live in the Mystic Ruins until greed and lust for power made them gone. All that remains is a red echidna attempting to keep their memory living on. Can you figure where to put an  **Ancient Chao Toy** , before the god of Chaos comes to destroy?

*To the first Riddle.*

Sonic: “Hmm… sounds like it’s talking about me… fighting Dark Gaia? So perhaps his treasure goes in the purple pedestal?”

*To the second Riddle.*

Sonic: “Oh! That’s Shadow! And the Black Aliens. I bet their treasure belongs on the black pedestal.”

*To the third Riddle.*

Tails: “The Babylon Rogues must be referring to Jet, Wave, Strom and their ancestors. Most likely it goes on that green pedestal.”

*To the fourth Riddle.*

Knuckles: “Hey, that’s my tribe! I guess someone must have found an ancient treasure and brought it here. My guess it goes on the cyan pedestal.”

Once all are solved and the treasures placed correctly, the way to the Mystical Power is shown. Once close enough...

Murray: “Mmm… this must be a powerful orb, guys. It feels so peaceful, and I’m only a couple steps away.”

Knuckles: “Perhaps… this is the concentration of everyone who has prayed at the temple?”

Murray: “Like the power of peace.”

Knuckles: “Yeah. It’s quite possible in our world.”

Murray: “I bet if Rajan had this… he could use it for evil. Is it okay if I take it back to the safehouse?”

Knuckles: “Don’t worry, we’ll return it without your gang knowing.”

Murray: “Thanks. Heading back now.”

To finish this mission, Murray just has to make it back to the safehouse without dropping the Mystical Power. Just avoid enemy contact and it’ll be easy as pie to finish this mission.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Murray holds the Mystical Power above him in a victory pose.*

\-----

**Tiger Tracks**

  * Find some disguises.
  * Discover Rajan’s Plan.
  * Find the Yellow Emerald’s location.



Carmelita makes her way in front of the palace and to the guard watching and in true police fashion…

Carmelita: “Inspector Carmelita Fox. The government sent me to come in and inspect the place over some drug claims. I got a warrant to search your premises. Make your life easier and just let me in.”

Rhino Guard: “Dah, no can do, sweetie. Even if you are a cop, Rajan said no outsiders right now, period. And if he finds out I did, he’s gonna kill me. Please leave. And if you see the photographers, please tell them we need them now.”

*Carmelita moves back, defeated. She pulls out her binocucom and looks at the front gate. Her’s is orange in color and the viewscreen is shaped like a fox. A mini version of her badge is on top of the viewscreen and along the side are  **neon blue charge bars** for her Shock Pistol, which she can use in this view as well.*

Carmelita: “Darn it! I thought I could fool them, but they got a dumb guard at the gate.”

Sly: “Dumb, but isn’t stupid enough to die by Rajan. Looks like you’ll have to get some disguises, and I’ll help.”

Carmelita: “I really… yeah, you’re right. I’m not skilled enough to steal it from them. Who do we get them from?”

Sly: “Just anyone who has it. Bentley’s sending out the beacons for the clothes.”

Looks like Carmelita and Sly have a job to do, which involves stealing 8 pieces of clothing from various guards. Kinda the usual Sly mission isn’t it? While that is usually the case, some of these guards are just going to need a zap instead with Carmelita’s Shock Pistol. Depending on how long it’s held, it can strengthen the shot for as much charge Carmelita has in her pistol.

Carmelita: “I can usually fire it off with the  **Square** button for a simple shot, but I can charge it by holding it down for a stronger shot to stun or defeat bigger guards. And for a better aim, I can use either the binocucom Bentley gave me, or hold  **L2** for a third person shooter aimer. Then I just point with the  **Left Analog Stick** , and shoot.”

Sly: “I think Bentley also installed charge bars into your binocucom that can be accessed anytime you fire a shot, so you can watch the meter drop or rise.”

Carmelita: “That’s helpful.”

Sly: “It’s how he is.”

Since Carmelita is here, and we wouldn’t want to draw too much suspicion, it’s best to not defeat the guards, but more stun them to steal their clothes with Sly. There are some notches on the gauge showing the stun limits for each guard, going above defeats them which we want to avoid for now, so we can steal the clothes. Once that’s done, head on over to the palace to finally get a move on.

Guard: “Oh! Finally! Rajan is waiting in his room down the left hallway. And, dah, don’t go down the right one, it’s the treasure room.”

\---

Sly: “Ah, how I love idiots. Well, I’m going to check out the treasure room for the Yellow Emerald, you deal with Rajan.”

Carmelita: “Yeah, I’ll see what he knows.”

Send Carmelita down the hallway to Rajan’s main room. The room is quite large, and has plenty of material possessions around. Most of it is just statues, artwork, books and the like that show Rajan’s visage and showing him off as royal as he can be. It would definitely make a narcissist look normal. Though, there does seem to be plans strewn out for what he’ll do next here and there. Rajan’s sitting at his desk, talking to Dr. Eggman.

Dr. Eggman: “How is the Yellow Emerald treating you, Rajan?”

Rajan’s Persona: “Wonderfully, Doctor! It’s giving me the ability to be king of this land!”

Dr. Eggman: “Oh no, so that’s what it can do in the wrong hands.”

Rajan’s Persona: “What’s that supposed to mean? Aren’t I not doing a good job being their leader?”

Dr. Eggman: “No, no, perfectly fine. Just watch out for that hedgehog and the Cooper gang. They’ll definitely come and ruin this.”

Rajan’s Persona: “They won’t. I wouldn’t be the perfect Rajan I am without planning for everything!”

Dr. Eggman: “Sure… well, I’m off finishing up. Don’t screw this up.”

Rajan’s Persona: “I won’t.”

*He notices Carmelita.*

Rajan’s Persona: “Ah, finally. You’ll be taking pictures of me, for prosperity, so they can see a great king. First, I want a picture of my glorious visage with something.”

*Carmelita gets a thought bubble*

Carmelita: “Hmm… perhaps I can convince him to get a picture with his walkabout schedule? But how…:”

[Good answer]  **Square** : Appeal to his ego?

Carmelita: “Say, Rajan, why not take a picture with your walking schedule? We could use it to line up your adoring people to watch you pass by and bow to you?”

Rajan’s Persona: “Ah! Yes! Perfect! Be adorned by the people so that they know that I’m King!”

[Best answer, with a bonus]  **Triangle** : Appeal to the true Rajan?

Carmelita: “Hey, Rajan, you truly want to be seen as the one true king, right?”

Rajan’s Persona: “Yeah?”

Carmelita: “Well, if we can get a picture of you with your scheduled walkabout, we can tell everyone to come and adorn you with gold and their possessions to make you even more rich.”

Rajan and his Persona: “Ah! Yes! Perfect! Be loved and get richer! Love it!”

[Incorrect answer, requires choosing the other 2]  **O** : Appeal to the people? 

Carmelita: “Why not tell the people where you’ll be by taking a photo with your planned walk?”

Rajan’s Persona: “Bah, I really don’t give any care about them, they’re boring.”

Just get that good picture with Rajan and the schedule in it, simple.

Rajan’s Persona: “Next, I want a picture of me showing just how wealthy I am.”

Carmelita Thought Bubble: “Hmm, I do spot his treasure list, and it has the code for the door on it. Now how to get that picture:”

[Best answer]  **Square** : Appeal to Rajan’s flaunting of wealth.

Carmelita: “Rajan, you want people to see how rich you are, correct?”

Rajan’s Persona: “Yes, since a king always has vast wealth that makes people listen.”

Carmelita: “Then why don’t we get a picture of you with your treasure worth here? That way your subjects will know you are truly wealthy.”

Rajan and his Persona: “YES!!! Everyone everywhere will truly know Rajan is the richest person in the world!”

[Wrong answer]  **Triangle** : Appeal to his generosity.

Carmelita: “How about we tell people how much you’re worth so they’ll flock to you?”

Rajan’s Persona: “And let them mooch off me? Forget it.”

[Good answer]  **O** : Appeal to his lineage.

Carmelita: “Oh, how about we take a picture of you with your treasure worth? If people know you’re a rich tiger, everyone might come to be under your rule.”

Rajan’s Persona: “Hmm, yes! Perfect! No one would be convinced I was poor ever again!”

Make sure to get that code into the treasure room so we can get in during the operation.

Rajan’s Persona: “Finally, I need a picture showing my plans for the future for everyone.”

Carmelita’s thought bubble: “W-what? Is that plans for a new spice production plant over there? I gotta get those:”

[Wrong answer]  **Square** : Be blunt.

Carmelita: “I-is that plans for a Spice operation?”

Rajan’s Persona: “Yes. What of it? It’s none of your business.”

[Good answer]  **Triangle** : Appeal to his smarts.

Carmelita: “Um… those are some big plans you have there.”

Rajan’s Persona: “Ah, my spice operation? I’m proud of it.”

Carmelita: “How about we get a picture of it so that your people know you’re a smart king who has plans for his subjects?”

Rajan’s Persona: “Yes, a great idea! People might work for me then.”

[Best answer]  **O** : Appeal to Rajan’s true nature.

Carmelita: “*Ahem* Perhaps we get a photo of your plans to make a spice making plant?”

Rajan’s Persona: “And why should we?”

Carmelita: “Well, maybe we can form some sort of employment plan with it so you can get more workers for the operation?”

Rajan alone: “Gain workers? Yes! Finally, my spice operation would be the largest it’s ever been!”

Carmelita: “Perfect! Let’s get a photo of it then.”

A good wide shot of those plans are in order, but make sure Rajan stays in the picture too.

Rajan’s Persona: “Okay, get out of here, I got big plans to work on! Shoo!”

\--

Sly meanwhile makes his own way down the other hall, and has his own photography to do.

Sly: “Hmm, perhaps I can trick them to taking pictures with the important stuff in the background…”

Sly’s got his work cut out for him, as he has to get the guards to stand in the right place and get the important stuff he needs to get pictures of in the background. Thankfully, these guards are very photogenic and will take as many pictures as needed until the player gets the right shot. As for the pictures, Sly’s attempting to get the buttons in order needed to open the way to the treasure vault area, so they can easily get in later. The treasure room has rings, jewels and other expensive items in piles, stacks and all over the place. It would be tempting for weak minded thieves to start pocketing all the loot, but Sly is able to push back those devils and keep on his work.

Once in there, get one last picture of guards with the Emerald to confirm its location in the palace.

Sly: “Last photo taken, and the Yellow Emerald is being held in the treasure room.”

Bentley: “Excellent. Better hurry back, Sly, before things get bad.”

The mission ends when Sly and Carm remeet right at the palace doors.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sly and Carmelita do a high five and then stand back to back together.*

\-----

**Operation Intermission**

*Our first slide is of Rajan with his trip schedule.*

Bentley: “Thanks to Carmelita’s smart thinking with Rajan, we have the walking schedule of where Rajan will be going around in. With enough luck and taunting with the T-Pup 2, we should be able to trick Rajan into the temple maze below and give us enough time for Phase 2.”

*The slide changes to one of the pictures Sly took inside the treasure room.*

Tails: “Since it went well already, Sly and Carmelita will be heading into the palace and hopefully steal the Emerald back with the reduced guard presence.”

Sly: “Heh, this should be a cakewalk.”

*The slide changes to the plans of the spice making operation.*

Bentley: “I’m pretty sure we’re all in agreement that Rajan’s new spice making plans for this world would be the worst thing to happen here, so of course, they need to be destroyed. From my map scanning, it looks like they’re quite blatantly obvious downhill.”

Knuckles: “Heh he, leave it to me, I’ll break them down.”

Sonic: “I’m going with you, Knucklehead. I have a feeling breaking them isn’t going to easy.”

Bentley: “I’m not sure myself, but I’d err on caution too. Hopefully, we can quickly get this over with, then subdue Rajan with the Mystical Power with Murray.”

Murray: “Just give me time to work this into my body, okay?”

Tails: “We’ll try to give you as much time as possible. So let’s get going!”


	9. Episode 2: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Persona: Operation The King and the Pauper to Conclusion

**Operation: The King and the Pauper**

  * Distract Rajan away from the palace.
  * Head to the Emerald Room.
  * Destroy the Spice-making Machines.
  * Distract Rajan until Murray can fight.



Everyone leaves the safehouse except for Murray and heads to their positions, but we focus in on Bentley and Tails as they start the first phase on the roof of the safehouse. As for the time of night, the moons have risen higher in the sky, nearly above us, cutting down on shadows and everything is moonlit. And with a well trained eye, one can see the Space Colony ARK still floating around in the sky, its faint lights twinkling among the stars.

*Ahem* Anyways, the T-Pup 2 lifts from inside the safehouse and onto the roof so they can better see it and also watch for Rajan.

Bentley: “Rajan’s leaving his palace, we better start attracting him into the maze. I think we’re gonna need to taunt him with good and bad phrases, but we also got to stay out of sight.”

Tails: “Yeah, the moonlight would shine on our robot, which is bad. But I think we can do it. I’ll handle the nice remarks, you do the taunts?”

Bentley: “Sounds like a plan.”

Go on and pilot the T-Pup 2 over to temple and while staying out of Rajan’s sight. Basically, just keep a fair distance and do not spend more than 2 seconds in moonlight. Our goal is taunting Rajan to the open wall into the temple maze.

We get taunts such as:

Bentley: “Oh, that Rajan couldn’t even lead a horse to water, let alone lead his people.”

Bentley: “The only thing Rajan could rule over is vegetables, and even those would rot and die right in front of him.”

Bentley: “Rajan’s rule is going to last as indefinitely as the half-life of uranium, and just as explosive!”

And complements such as:

Tails: “Oh, Rajan is so awesome! Having a tiger as our ruler can only mean great things for us!”

Tails: “I’ve heard Rajan will keep us truly safe and we won’t have to worry about anything!”

Tails: “Wow! Rajan even has plans for us to work and make money for ourselves? Sweet!”

Once Rajan ends up through to the maze, the T-Pup shuts the wall behind it and leaves Rajan stuck for now. 

~~Murray’s Progress with the Mystical Power: 30%.~~

As Rajan is left pounding the wall, we logo-wipe our way over to Sly and Carmelita hopping up to the gates of the palace.

Carmelita: “It’s odd that there’s not many guards up here. I mean, it makes it easier on my Shock Pistol, but where are they?”

Sly: “It seems Rajan just got rid of them. Maybe he’s getting real delusional? All that matters is that we got a shot at the Yellow Emerald, so we should take it.”

With very little resistance, the duo can enter the palace and make their way to the treasure room. Security is the usual laser beams sweeping around, but they’re quite easy to bypass for these two acrobats. The button press order and the code to the treasure room can easily be accessed from the binocucom with the  **Triangle** button on that mode. This is probably the easiest part of the operation though it soon turns out this was all for naught as they enter the treasure room.

Sly: “N-no! It’s gone!”

Carmelita: “It’s gone?”

Sly: “It was right there on that big pedestal around the rest of the treasure!”

Carmelita: “We better tell Bentley.”

Bentley, through the binocucom: “What is it?”

Sly: “The emerald is not in the palace, Bentley! It’s gone!”

Bentley, through the binocucom: “Oh no! Then that must mean Rajan has it!”

*We cut back to the T-Pup 2, and by this point, Rajan finally breaks through the wall, mad. And from the vantage point of the hidden T-Pup 2, they see a yellow barrier around Rajan. Something alarms on Rajan’s wrist.*

Rajan’s Persona: “HAH HA! I knew someone was planning to rob me in my paranoia! Good thing I have the Yellow Emerald right on me! Attack the intruders, guards, while I go after the main threat myself!”

*Alarms go off in the palace and guards start coming out of the rooms.*

Carmelita: “Damn it! We’re going to have to fight our way out of here!”

Sly: “Way ahead of you.”

It’s going to take some fighting with cane and shocks to break through the guards and out the front door. But their part ends at least when they get out the door.

~~Murray’s Progress with the Mystical Power: 60%~~

We catch up by logo-wipe to Sonic and Knuckles, arriving at the spice making machines., but is also the time the alarms go off.

Bentley, over the binocucom: “Sonic, Knuckles! You got to hurry! Rajan escaped and looks to be heading your way! And by the looks of it, he might be invincible!”

Sonic: “Don’t worry, Bentley. We got this.”

Knuckles: “Hmm… looks to be 25 spice machines in rows. Some are simple, but others are complex and have metal barriers protecting them.”

Sonic: “It shouldn’t be too hard finding the weak spots, like the legs and support beams. Just break those and the whole machine falls.”

As stated, there are 25 machines lined up on the hill, in the order of a 5x5 grid. Conveyor belts go from one end to the other, and there are plenty of mashers, pushers, sorters and catwalks all around. Some areas are protected by metallic sheets protecting entry by normal means. Watchtowers also watch around the edges here and there. Steel legs hold up the machines somewhat high up in the air. Although it sounds daunting, Sonic and company have dealt with steel more than enough to easily smash it up in a few hits. There’s plenty of ways to dismantle the machines, but the easiest is just either breaking the legs of the watchtowers onto the machines, or slamming into the legs enough times to break them and drop the delicate precision machines.

Once 6 are destroyed, Rajan soon reveals his ugly mug running up the hill.

Rajan’s Persona: “STOP! You will stand down and be killed! You will not disrupt my progress in becoming KING!!”

Sonic: “Heh, he didn’t even give an ‘or’ option. But I got a perfect idea for the brute.”

Knuckles: “Isn’t he invincible because of the Yellow Emeralds perfect defense?”

Sonic: “Exactly. Make him crash into the machines and smash them apart that much easier. Like a bull into a target.”

Knuckles: “Yeah, and we can even be up on the structures while he can’t. Let’s get destroying then!”

Although Rajan is definitely dangerous right now, charging around on the ground trying to run us over, it is also to our advantage as his perfect defense literally barrels through the steel beams and destroys them in one hit. Sonic and Knuckles also happen to bounce off the barrier around Rajan if they happen to collide with it during their attacks. It shouldn’t take long to destroy all 25 machines.

~~Murray’s Progress with the Mystical Power: 90%~~

Rajan: “NOOO!!! My beautiful spice production, RUINED!!!”

Knuckles: “That was way easier to destroy than Eggman’s airships.”

Sonic: “Clearly this tiger underestimated us.”

Rajan’s Pesona: “No! It is you who underestimated me! I’ll kill you!” *He charges at them.*

Sonic: “You’ll have to catch us first!”

*Both Sonic and Knuckles peel away from the hill at speed and Rajan follows.*

Sonic: “How’s it going, Bentley? Is Murray ready?”

Bentley: “Almost, he just needs one more minute to fully power up.”

Sonic: “We will get you that minute.”

Just one last thing to do… RUN!!! Keep Rajan on the chase for a minute so Murray can finally bring the hurt. Just dodge any way that is possible and keep away from the crazed tiger. Once the minute has elapsed…

Rajan’s Persona: “ENOUGH!!!” *He traps Sonic and Knuckles in an electric barrier who end up trapped in the small fountain of the village square.*

Sonic: “Whoa!”

Knuckles: “Ow!”

Rajan’s Persona: “No more games! You shall die!”

*He raises a paw at them when a voice suddenly stops him from attacking.*

\-----

**Boss: Rajan**

  * Defeat Rajan.



Murray: “Why don’t you fight someone your own size, Rajan?”

*Rajan turns around to spot Murray, glowing a light pink on his skin and his aura with the Mystical Power.*

Rajan’s Persona: “What, the fat, pathetic weakling hippo? So you got this pink aura, it doesn’t matter, it’s no match to me!” *He gains an electric yellow aura and an electric barrier surrounds their battlefield in the village square.*

Murray: “You know, I’ve learned a lot since I’ve last fought you, and it’s that you’re the one who’s pathetic and weak.”

Rajan’s Persona: “Is that true? I heard from that Eggman fella that your friends legs were broken after fighting Clockwerk, and you felt it was all your fault.”

Murray: “I know now that it wasn’t and learned to be much more supportive of my friend. I protect him and Sly as best as I can.”

Rajan’s real voice starts to creep out:  *Growls low* “Ah, but I heard that you ran off like a baby because you were so pathetic.”

Murray: “I did run, but only because I wanted to find spiritual enlightenment for my anger, especially from  _ YOUR _ spice.”

Rajan’s real voice is more dominant: *Growls louder* “You willingly ate my spice! Your anger from it is your own fault!”

Murray: “It was my fault, but I’ve learned to channel my anger and peace to be in harmony! With this Mystical Power, I will defeat you!”

*Rajan’s Emerald barrier wavers, looking weaker.*

Rajan’s voice is in control, and there is very little of the Persona: “Bah! I’LL SHOW YOU THAT ANGER TRIUMPHS!”

Bentley, over the binocucom: “Murray! Now is your chance! His barrier is weakened and you might be able to beat him now!”

Oh yeah! Ladies and gentleman anthros, the explosive rematch between Rajan and Murray is on! It’s an all out, no holds barred fighting match to rival other matches! Since Rajan has no Clockwerk Heart tied onto a big stick to fight with, he’ll have to fight with his fists to beat his opponent. Right now though, Rajan is a bit slow and only does a one-two wide swing, followed by a slower, strong uppercut. Though, don’t let them hit as they still can do some damage to Murray. For now, Murray’s punches can’t hurt Rajan’s health bar, only chinking away at it, but it is smashing that barrier around him. Keep it up till it finally shatters like glass and leaves Rajan more vulnerable to attacks. He can even be stunned with a good combo, and hitting him into the electric fence will be quite painful to Rajan.

*Once Rajan loses 25% of his health, he jumps back out of range of Murray.*

Rajan: “So the pathetic hippo has learned to fight better. No matter, you’ll never be able to beat my moves!”

Murray: “You’re the one who’s pathetic, since you’re so slow!”

Rajan: “Slow?! I’ll show you that you’re the slow one!” *Rajan shines his electric aura over him, and starts crackling with energy.*

Rajan has now brought his electric powers out onto himself, both speeding up his attacks and making his accuracy much greater. It also adds a bit of an electrical after image that Murray will have to dodge too. Still though, Rajan should still be manageable to fight against. Just dodge, then attack when available, the barrier back again but still easy to break.

*After Rajan loses 50% health.*

Rajan: “So I see that’s we’re evenly matched in fighting skills. Let’s see you dodge this!”

At this point, Rajan starts running around all over the ring on all fours, and charging back and forth in an attempt to hit Murray by surprise. At this point, an earlier bonus comes in from choosing the best answers back with Carmelita. When Rajan lines up to attack Murray, there’s a small window to perform an uppercut and quickly knock Rajan's stunned and his shell broken. With more bonuses, the window of attack is extended to make it even easier. Toss him into the electricity for big damage. Afterwards, it’s continued attacking.

*After losing 75% health.*

Rajan: “You think you’ve won?! You’re too weak to stop me, hippo!”

Now at his wit’s end, Rajan attacks with all he’s got, plus an extra attack where he slams the ground and sends out an electric shock to zap Murray. Jump as the shock heads out to avoid it. Then just keep up the fight to Rajan is finally knocked out.

Murray: “Yeah! Now you know the true might of ‘THE MURRAY’!”

*The barriers go away, freeing Knuckles and Sonic. Sly, Carmelita, Bentley and Tails soon hop onto the scene.*

Sly: “Whoa! That was incredibly awesome Murray!”

Murray: “Aw… I was just doing it for you all.”

Sonic: “Now… where’s that Emerald…”

*The Emerald rolls out of Rajan’s pocket and over to Tails feet.*

Tails: “Oh?”

*With a yellow electric flash, Tails is warped into the dimension of the Yellow Emerald.*

\-----

**The** **Yellow Emerald’s** **Defense**

  * Get the Yellow Emerald.



*Tails flashes in with a blast of yellow and takes a look at his surroundings. He finds himself on the comic book version of the front lawn of the Presidential Residence, surrounded by press, adoring fans, and others.*

Tails: “H-huh? W-what’s with all this praise?”

*The Presidential Band nearby starts playing ‘Hail to the Chief’ as the President walks out of the front doors of the P.R., followed by the G.U.N. Commander and the Secretary. They come onto the stage Tails is on.*

The President: “We gather here today to honor a hero. One who sacrificed himself to the enemy in order to get behind enemy lines and stop their terror on our world. This fox conquered over the Deadly Six and destroyed their machine of terror, all while getting Dr. Eggman to boot.”

Tails mutters: “H-huh? W-would that be the time we were on Lost Hex? But I didn’t-”

The President: “For all this, we thank you, Miles ‘Tails’ Prower. As a thank you, we wish for you to have this Chaos Emerald for your efforts.”

*The Secretary opens up a special box she was holding and inside was the very shiny Yellow Emerald.*

Tails: “H-huh?! Really?!”

The President: “Yes, it’s all yours.”

Tails: “T-thank… w-wait, where’s Sonic?”

The President: “You don’t remember? Perhaps you’ve become quite overcome with grief…”

Tails: “W-what happened?”

The President: “He fought the Deadly Six and Dr. Eggman as best he could… but died from overwhelming grief and them all ganging up on him. But then you came out partially cyborg and defeated them all single handedly.”

Tails: “W-WHAT?!”

GUN Commander: “Perhaps you’d like to grieve more privately?”

Tails is too shocked to say anything.

The President: “Please, take the Emerald and you can go.”

*Tails was just about to cry when he looked to the building nearby, which the camera pans across the comic book page to the top right, and at the top was a silhouette of Sonic.*

Tails: “Sonic!”

*The silhouette moves back a bit out of sight and Tails finally understood.*

Tails: “N-no! I can’t take credit for this! I did not beat the Deadly Six and Eggman! Sonic did!”

The President: “He couldn’t have, he died. Besides, he’d want you to relish in this glory.”

Tails hears voices in his head, echoes of him:

Tails Echoes: “Yeah, remember when he said he wanted to work with Eggman? Our sworn enemy? What was Sonic thinking?”

Tails Echoes 2: “He would sacrifice his life to make sure we’d succeed. He would want us to take the glory, just like in Station Square, remember?”

Tails Echoes 3: “Doesn’t it feel wonderful to be recognized for our genius and bravery? Don’t worry about Sonic, it’s time we get out of his shadow and into the spotlight.”

Tails: “N-no! If I’m going to get this glory, I have to earn it on my own and not take credit for what Sonic did! I can’t take this!” *He starts to leave the stage* I’m on my way, Sonic!”

Panel #1: The Presidential Resident Front Lawn

Tails is going to have to make his way through the crowd of anthros and humans, aligned in a maze trying to cheer for him. Unfortunately, Tails can only make it so far and will start turning back after awhile against our will. When he does, we will have to tap on the  **O button** a few times to remind him to push onwards through this comic to Sonic. Soon, we move on to the next panel.

Panel #2: The Street

Some weak Egg Pawns carrying Tails signs will have to be defeated, so another badnik, a classic Rhinotank, breaks open the panel wall to the alley. But just remember to keep Tails’ ego in check or else he’ll try to reenter Panel 1.

Panel #3: The Alley

Pretty simple, just climb up the piles of garbage to the second story window into Panel Number 4.

Panel #4: The Second Floor

It’s getting a bit tougher as badniks have created force fields in the elevator, preventing Tails from reaching higher floors. On this floor, he’ll have to defeat 4 Snake Eyes crawling around the hallways.

Panel #5: The Third Floor

There are 5 Skorps roam these halls, so be wary of those spike tails.

Panel #6: The Fourth Floor

Now flying in are 6 Nebulas, which will need to be popped like the balloons they are to finally reach the last panel.

Panel #7: The Roof

Head on over to the back of the roof and finally meet that silhouette.

Tails: “Sonic! I knew you were alive!”

*Sonic comes out of the shadows, but he looks meek and not at all himself.*

Sonic: “Huh? Tails? W-what do you want?”

Tails: “I can’t do this. This ceremony should be for you, not me.”

Sonic: “But… I can’t… I put you in grave danger for siding with Eggman, and thinking I should have been faster to save you…”

Tails: “I realize now I let my ego take over. Eggman was a great asset… even if he did turn on us at the end. With him, we did defeat the Deadly 6. And you’re always fast, Sonic, thank you for saving me after I got trapped. I don’t blame you for it.”

Sonic: “You don’t?”

Tails: “Nah. Best friends do the silliest things for each other.”

Sonic: “But… what about this ceremony? Don’t you wanna take credit for it? I know you’ve always wanted to be in the spotlight.”

Tails: “I want to earn it by my own merits, not by stealing it from you. It may be nice to be adored, but it’s horrendous on my ego. You deserve this credit, Sonic.”

Sonic: “T-thank you, Tails. Could I ask for-”

*Without needing to know, Tails immediately gave Sonic a big hug.*

Sonic: “Thank you… and for your humility…”

*The real Yellow Emerald comes out of Sonic and lands on Tails’ hand.*

Tails: “Oh?”

Sonic: “The one the President had was the fake one you used with Eggman.”

Tails: “Oh… but yay!”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Tails does a flip and flies up into the air with the Yellow Emerald.*

\-----

**Conclusion** :

*Tails returns in a blast of yellow into the panel and everyone comes in for a hug. Cuffs get slapped onto Rajan, who gets kicked into a G.U.N. truck and whisked away.*

Sly, narrating: “With a spectacular blast of yellow, Tails returned with the Emerald and we got Rajan in cuffs. Seeing as how we couldn’t get back to our world for now, Sonic and his friends suggested we get him into G.U.N.’s prison until we could leave.”

*The Miles Electric is shown buzzing and ringing, and is answered by Tails. Rouge is soon shown talking. Scribbles of a pagoda, a chicken, zombies, and the Green Emerald are show above*

Sly, narrating: “Once everything started quieting down, Tails got a call on his Miles Electric. Turns out the caller was of the bat thief Rouge they mentioned back on Angel Island, and she had worrisome news.”

Rouge: “Sonic! G.U.N. wanted me to warn you that there’s been quite the disturbance in the country of Chun-nan. Reports are of the citizens fleeing and a weird chicken holding onto the Green Emerald and raising the dead. Did Eggman take them earlier?”

Sonic: “Yeah, he did, but we’re working to get them back. We’ll be over there soon!”

Sly, narrating: “Chicken? Chun-nan? Raising the dead? Oh no… We better get going!”


	10. Episode 3: Kung Tsao Rooster: Introduction through First Intermission

Chapter 3

**Introduction** :

*As before, the Cooper Gang are with Tails in the Tornado, and Sonic and Knuckles speeding below. Rajan is shown above in the stars getting X’d out.*

Sly, narrating: “My mind was still thinking over the fight we had against Rajan. If it weren’t for Murray breaking Rajan out of his shell, we could have been toast. Does this mean that defeating our next villain was going to be harder?”

*Sly soon thinks of General Tsao, who gets drawn in, and his terrible rule is shown of past Sly events.*

Sly, narrating: “That chicken Rouge mentioned… it has to be General Tsao, there’s no other. General Tsao, there’s no polite words to describe him. He’s a womanizer, a tyrant of what was other villagers’ land, and otherwise complete jerk. And worse, he’s smart and cold. When we fought him in China, he somehow knew what we were planning and stole Bentley’s computer that we had to fight back hard for. We only beat him by sheer luck that he didn’t pay attention to Panda King’s daughter being changed to Carmelita right under his nose. But I’m not fully sure why he chose this… Chun-nan.”

*Sonic soon butts in for a moment, and draws up Chun-nan.*

Sonic, narrating: “Oh! That’s because it’s similar to your China. It did develop differently and might not look fully the same, but I bet he feels the same vibes there, what with all the pagodas and temples. I had to save the place from the Gaia Phoenix here that got corrupted by Dark Gaia. To be short, Eggman broke the planet and awoken Dark Gaia, basically an evil god in this universe. With the Light Gaia I made friends with, his name Chip, we rebuilt the planet and resealed Dark Gaia away. During the break up period, little minions of Dark Gaia did attack.”

*Mantis Vampires and Dark Gaia minions start multiplying on the land.*

Sly, narrating: “I’m worried, Sonic. It sounds like he could raise them with his Mantis Vampire powers.”

Sonic, narrating: “It could be possible, if it taps into the same power.”

Sly, narrating: “... We better stop him NOW!”

Sly Cooper, his Gang, and Team Sonic in 

*With a flurry of hands and shoes kicking at a wall of bamboo, excess pieces get knocked away and leaving behind only a title card made from the remains, ‘  **Kung Tsao Rooster** ’*

\-----

**Hub Layout** : General Tsao sure isn’t playing around this time. He’s already taken over the main village of Chun-nan and made it his own fortress. Huge walls surround the village around the river, and the only land access points are blocked by big gates. His guards work everywhere, leaving the village empty. The gang can’t even make a safehouse in the village, having to make one in a nearby cave in the mountains overlooking it. Gunships float up and down the river, looking for any intruders. Definitely, Sonic, his friends and Cooper Gang have their work cut out for them.

As is stands, the village is smack dab in the middle of the mountain range, only enterable by land from the South by a sort of Great Wall of Chun-nan, but as stated, it has a big gate right at the entrance into the village. Surrounding the village and the walls is a river that flows from North to South and splits in two around the village. To the North is the Chaos Emerald Shrine, but unless it is jumped into, the only safe passage in is from the village. Mountains are surrounding the village all over, and there are paths on both sides of them, and the guard presence is somewhat lighter. Somehow defying gravity, dragon statues float around high above the village, but they are closely monitored by spotlights. Tsao sure did think of everything, didn’t he? Surely there must be a chink in this well-made armor…

**Enemies** :

  * **Pigs** : Tsao has mind warped the pigs in this world to do his bidding. Dressed in black kung fu uniforms, these hams can fight back with mighty Kung Fu. Be wary that if provoked enough, they will summon a magic dragon head to chase and blow up the player. They drop 6-8 rings and pickpocketing them usually gives a small sized item.
  * **Monkeys** : Different, though similar monkey Tsao has warped into his army. They are dressed in green clothes and ancient Chinese armor. They too can use kung fu, and at a distance, shurikens that flash once before hitting. They drop 7-9 rings and pickpocketing them usually gives a medium sized item.
  * **Tigers** : Very big tigers make for very big flashlight guards, don’t they? Or in this case, paper lantern lights. They are dressed in full red samurai armor and carry both a samurai blade and spears. At close range they can swing the blade, and from afar, toss spears with sobering accuracy. Best to defeat them with sneak attacks, eh? They drop 8-10 rings and pickpocketing them usually gives a large sized item.
  * **Mantis Vampires** : General Tsao has no respect for the dead. They were once Tsao’s past ancestors, servants and family alike, reanimated into a terrible undeath. They’re made quite unstable with an infusion of dark magic, exploding at any time to defeat the enemy. Otherwise, they usually just chop with their limbs. It might be smart to just stay away. They tend to drop any amount of rings.
  * **Egg Launchers** : Eggman must have some of these badniks lying around and brought them out for Tsao to use. All they are about is missiles and lots of them. The ones from their hands usually head forward, but the ones fired into the sky tend to come down anywhere their targeting reticle stops at. It’s best to keep on the move. Drops 7 rings when smashed.
  * **Egg Fighter Knights** : Dangerous badniks that are the pinnacle of the Egg Fighter models. Now changed a bit, they swing samurai swords with speed, and carry period accurate Chinese shields. Sly and his friends may have a tougher time against these badniks, since they would have to find some way to circumvent the shield. Drops 8 rings when smashed.
  * **Egg Cannons** : At first glance, they appear to be normal black cannons just firing cannon balls, but on close inspection, they suddenly grow tank treads! They will move around and follow any intruder who gets close and fire cannonballs at them. If the enemy is too close, they spin their cannon around as an attack. Surprisingly, defeat is by either hitting their top, or smacking a cannonball back. Drops 9 rings when smashed.
  * **Dark Master** : The wizarding force of Dark Gaia’s minions, they tend to throw spells at their enemies. There are some robe changes to them. Red means fire spells, yellow is electricity which shocks and stops movement for a second, green is curing of enemies, blue is ice for a freeze for a couple seconds, purple blast dark rays, and black colored ones raise the strength of the other minions. They drop 9 rings when defeated.
  * **Deep Nightmare & Nightmare**: As Dark Gaia’s ground force, these guys are plentiful, but not very strong, but be wary when they gang up. They mostly attack by stretching their arms or the usual fist punches. There are bigger nightmares that mostly attack stronger and take a few more hits. Drops 8 rings when defeated.
  * **Titan** : Big bad lumbering brute that love swinging their club. They will either swing it around 3 times in a row, or jump up and come back down with a shockwave that must be jumped over, or else the gang will be stunned for a few seconds. They will take quite a few hits to take down for sure, but there’s the old saying ‘the bigger they are, the harder they fall.’. Drops 10 rings when defeated.



Treasures:

From Guards:

  * _Small Emerald_ : Mostly stolen from lower guards. Worth 25 rings
  * _Medium Emerald_ : Mostly stolen from medium guards. Worth 30 rings.
  * _Large Emerald_ : Mostly stolen from large guards. Worth 35 rings.



On Pedestals:

  * _Ancient Scroll_ : It probably has something important written on it, but I don’t know Chinese. :P Bring it back to the safehouse for 50 rings. Found in one of the pagodas near the river.
  * _Golden Chinese Firecracker_ : Probably the most expensive explosive device so far, must give new meaning to blowing your money up in smoke. Be careful as getting hit will blow up the treasure and Sly as well. Worth 100 rings when brought back to the safehouse. Found in a house in the town.
  * _Lotus Flower_ : The most beautiful lotus flower one will ever see. Worth 150 rings. Found in the palace gardens.



~~Jobs~~

**Mountainside Recon**

  * Recon the front gate.
  * Get pictures of:
    * The Gaia Temple
    * 6 Gunboats
    * 8 spotlights
    * 6 flying Stone dragon
  * Recon the river cave and possible docking spot.



*Sly hops out of the cave they are using as a safehouse and up a few craggly rocks to look at the village of Chun-nan.*

Sly: “Sheesh, I knew General Tsao would be ready for our return, but this… this is overboard.”

Bentley: “He’s really made sure any kind of access was blocked, and the village has quite strategic advancements.”

Sonic: “At least I’ve been here before, so I’ll help as I can.”

Sly: “I’m curious…”

A waypoint appears near the front gates to Chun-nan, which officially starts off our gameplay here. It’s been a few hours since the fall of Rajan, so the moon has moved mostly west and it is the only moon visible again. The stars twinkle as normal. Everything reflects beautifully off the river as it flows.

Soon, Sly reaches the gates and it’s clear that things are bad. There’s an overbearing guard presence, the spotlights watch over this bridge, the gunboats can fire here easily, and there’s probably plenty more traps preventing any access.

Sly: “Yep, Tsao did think of anything. There’s not even anything I can climb on the sides or dangling around.”

Bentley: “And I bet Tsao got extra cautious with anything to stop us too. But perhaps we can find a different way in. But for now, just get pictures of everything. The spotlights, gunboats, and the flying stone dragons.”

Sonic: “Can you also add the Gaia Temple to the north in your recon? It might be important later.”

Sly: “Alright, I’ll do that too.”

Ah, the usual recon, always the way to start off a new world. There’s no particular place to gather most these photos from, all that matters is getting a clear shot.

Sonic, upon the finished 6 photos of the stone dragons: “I once ran along those dragons, but now they look to be ‘alive’! I wonder if it’s Eggman’s work.”

Bentley, upon the picture of the temple: “That’s a very elaborate and decorated place. Is that this world’s prayer spots, like churches?”

Tails: “Well, that’s the Gaia temple we told you about earlier. People do pray there though, so yeah, it’s kinda like one.”

Along the east side of the mountains, there’s a curious little spot near the river where the village ends onto a dock. Get a picture of that…

Sly: “Hmm… I’m guessing that’s where they fish, huh?”

Tails: “Yeah. If there was some way to get a boat docked there, maybe you could sneak into the village that way.”

And along the north side of the mountain, near to where the river starts, a cave seems to enter the top of the waterfall that starts there. Get a picture of that…

Sly: “Hmm, there’s a cave over there that’s been guarded well, but perhaps that’s where we can get the boat we need and head down the river that way?”

Bentley: “It’d be dangerous, but possible. If nothing else, it is a way.”

*Once everything is done.*

Sly: “Hmm, all this recon and we aren’t close to getting in yet… Tsao… you’re making for a fun time.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sly swings his cane over his back to celebrate his finish.*

\-----

**Intermission 1**

*Bentley brings up their first slide, which is an image of the guarded village. He makes an X over the front gate.*

Bentley: “It’s clear from the outset, this village is armed to the teeth with the best defense Tsao could ever put up. But, despite his cunning, I think I might have found a way in.”

*He shows a slide of the river cave.*

Bentley: “I believe if we get rid of the guards here, we might have the perfect place to put a boat to head down the river…”

*The slide changes to the docks.*

Bentley: “And land here, at their fishing dock in the village. What would happen next, I’m not sure.. Which is why only Sly, Murray and I will be the ones going. Carmelita would be of better use to Sonic’s team, and a useful surprise on Tsao.”

*The slide goes to the gunships.*

Bentley: “However, before we even attempt that, we first must get rid of the gunships floating around, and I’m worried. There’s nothing for Sly to climb on and they would see us as soon as anyone gets close.”

Knuckles: “Oh! Let me at them! I might be small enough to be unnoticed and my knuckles can climb up the wood for sure.”

*The slide moves on to the searchlights.*

Bentley: “Okay, then we just need to handle the spotlight issue too, but luckily, I think I have found where they might be. I’m going to have to bomb their generators to make sure they stay off for good. After that, then we can attempt the entrance into the village.”

~~Thiefnet Upgrades~~

  * _Instashield_ : 350 Rings [Description: Sonic can **jump** and press **Square** to protect himself with his shield trick from Sonic 3 and Knuckles. It will knock back projectiles and let Sonic attack through spikes safely.]
  * _Remote Bomb:_ 300 Rings [Description: Bentley’s timed bombs. Just hold the special button to allow precise aiming with the **Left Analog Stick** and toss the bomb right where it’s needed. Blow up with the special button again.]
  * _Dummy Ring_ : 300 Rings. [Description: Tails can use this as one of his special moves that use some of his Reflex meter, on the **L1, L2 or R2 buttons**. It will allow him to toss some fake rings that will shock and explode when touched, causing damage and stunning the enemy.]




	11. Episode 3: Kung Tsao Rooster: Job 2 through Second Intermission

**Sink the Ships**

  * Destroy the 6 gunships.



Knuckles chuckles his way on over to his starting point, an unguarded area of the mountain path overlooking the river. The moon has moved a bit more, but not much has changed since the mountains end up taking most of the shadows.

Bentley: “So you really think you can get onto these gunships discreetly? There’s plenty of guards on them, and those cannons look to be primed to fire at a moment’s notice!”

Knuckles: “Heh he, we’ve handled most artillery Eggman has ever thrown at us, even cannons! These should be easy.”

Bentley: “Oh, heh, then in that case, go right ahead.”

And with that, our mission starts to destroy the 6 gunships. As noted, the best sneak in is by making Knuckles glide from the mountain path onto the ship and latch on with his knuckles. Once on, the guards and badniks are oblivious until the first strike is hit, which will then lead to a fight with the guards and later the cannons. It might be best to use the sudden firing of the cannons to quickly defeat the big guards by surprise. As for the cannons, they’re quite sturdy compared to past turret artillery from Eggman, and can take a few more hits than expected. But their weakness is their fuse are, where there’s a bit less steal that Knuckles can ‘dig’ on and break it apart. Or, with some good timing, smack the cannonballs they fire back with a punch and destroy the cannon with the return shot.

Anyways, after destroying the tools of destruction, it’s time to send these boats down to the bottom of the river. For once, it’s quite easy, and no, it’s not a stupid self destruct button. In this case, Knuckles just has to continuously ‘dig’ down decks and break through to the water below. With that, the ship will quickly sink and finally send the tally up by one. Then it’s just a matter of doing the same to the other 5.

Knuckles: “That’s 6 gunships dunked into the drink, and I didn’t get wet much at all.”

Bentley: “Great! This will definitely make our approach much easier.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Knuckles brings his fists together and does a self punch between them to celebrate.*

\-----

**Spotlight Shutdown**

  * Blow out the generators for the searchlights.



Bentley rolls out from the safehouse, taking a moment to shiver at the sight of Tsao’s new reign. He heads on down the path that leads near the river homes on this side of the mountains and pulls out his binocucom.

Bentley: “Now, let’s see… Tsao definitely didn’t leave the generators out in the open, so they must be in a structure. But there’s plenty of houses on this side of the river too…”

Tails: “They have only been here a day, at the very most. Maybe you might be able to hear the electrical hum, or the conduits sticking out of the ground or anything else out of place?”

Bentley: “Yeah, just gotta keep my eyes and ears open.”

This place should look familiar to the players of the PS2/Wii version of Sonic Unleashed as it’s partially based on those night stages. This side of the river has many pagodas and bridges and some rocky outcroppings on the river that Bentley will have to contend with, but it shouldn’t be too hard with his rockets. What will be hard a fair bit is finding the generators that Tsao has hidden. One is easier to find, just out in the middle of a pagoda along the river. The rest are more tucked away, and Tsao has hidden them behind false walls that can either be noticeable with an electrical conduit going under the wall, or the light flickers behind it with shadows being case from the inside. From there, they’re usually tucked away on more hidden pagodas. As for destroying them, only 3 bombs are needed to blast them to pieces. There are 4 generators spread out among the river, and blasting them shows off the spotlights going dark. Thankfully, it shouldn’t take long to finish.

Bentley: “Heh he, looks like things are going dark for you, General Tsao, but don’t worry, we’ll soon shine our own spotlight on you… and your failure. Hah!”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Bentley does the robot along with his arm attachments as his victory animation.*

\-----

**Angry Rooster**

  * Make it to the river cave.
  * Avoid General Tsao.
  * Defeat General Tsao on the Egg-O-Matic.



Sly, Bentley, and Murray roll out from the safehouse and we quickly take control of Sly as they walk and talk their way over to the mountain cave.

Sly: “Nice work on taking out the spotlights, buddy. Now our approach will be lots easier.”

Bentley: “Indeed. But now we need to scour a boat to use and then row our way on over to that dock, hopefully without Tsao knowing.”

Murray: “Oh! That means I’m gonna be rowing, right?”

Bentley: “Yep, but it shouldn’t be much different to what we did back in Blood Bath Bay. But first, we gotta make it into the cave.”

Sly: “I got this.”

With his usual sneakiness, Sly makes quick work of the guards on patrol without alerting anything and gets the gang into the cave. And, with a little more searching, they find an abandoned boat near the river mouth*

Sly: “Huh, hey guys, someone left their boat here.”

Murray: “Sweet! Easy access into the village then!”

Bentley: “That’s… odd. I’m worried that it may be a trap…”

Sly: “Eh, I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Besides, if it is, we can handle it and got Sonic as backup.”

Bentley: “True. I guess we’ll just be careful then.”

Murray: “All aboard the dragon boat!”

*They hop in and with Murray’s pushing strength, they end up going over the waterfall and into the water below with a splash, but otherwise still floating.*

Murray: “Sorry…”

Sly shakes the water off: “Heh, impromptu cannonball, huh? I give it a 10.”

Bentley: “Oof, I got water in my shell, but it’s alright, Murray. Just warn us next time. Anyway, remember how to row?”

Murray: “Oh! Yeah! I tap  **L1** to turn left,  **R1** to turn right, and both at the same time to continue on straight ahead.”

Bentley: “Yep, well, let’s move out.”

Stroke! Stroke! Time to float our way down the river, which the game gives us a chance to get used to, avoiding the various rock outcroppings and poles into the water. The boat is in no danger of sinking, but Murray will have to row a certain way around to get unstuck. In all, it’s a ride until…

Sly’s ears twitch: “Hm? Does anyone hear the sound of rockets?”

Bentley: “I do hear the faint sound of thrusters, yeah. Where’s it coming from?”

Sonic screams through the binocucom: “GUYS, DUCK!!!”

*They do, just in time as the Egg-Mobile piloted by Tsao flies by blasting them with dual gun bullet barrages and then the afterburners of the rocket thrusters. To describe the machine, it looked to be the Jet Mobile used in Mushroom Hill, what with the armor along the back and the boosters shooting flames from the bottom, but with the extra addition of two guns blasting bullets in sprays attached along the sides.*

General Tsao: “I may have missed that shot, but you won’t be so lucky next time! Die, Cooper Gang!”

Sly: “Whoa! Someone’s taking things more extremely!”

Sonic: “Row, Murray! Row fast and dodge while I hurry on over!”

Murray holds onto his forward momentum as we get to dodge the bullet spray Tsao is firing at us for 30 seconds. We are watching from the top down perspective, with Tsao at the top. Murray still goes left with the  **L1 button** , and right with the  **R1 button** . The sprays do have a bit of a pattern, either going left to right, right to left, or just in expanding fans. The best thing to do is just work on being within the bullets and not caring about much else. Nearing the end, the gang ends up going upriver, so as to avoid going down in the cavern mouth.

*By this time, Sonic rushes in and gives a hit to the contraption to grab Tsao’s attention.*

Sonic: “Hey, jerk chicken! Pick on someone with your own sized ego!”

Tsao: “You! I was told by that Dr. Eggman that you’d be here to interfere. You will die, Sonic the Hedgehog!”

Sonic: “You’ll have to prove that with more than just the strut, Tsao!”

Tsao: “Grr… DIE, you overglorified pincushion!”

**Mini Boss: Jet Mobile Mark II**

Tsao aint great at the comebacks, is he? Anyways, our goal is to destroy Tsao’s machine, while avoiding death from his bullet spam and fire from the boosters. The bullets mostly track from where Sonic last was, so as long as he doesn’t stay in the same point, he’ll be okay. The fires mostly stay on for 5 seconds, then off for 5 seconds, but get shortened at most to 3 seconds for both with the more hits Tsao takes, though it can be avoided entirely by hitting the sides at the cost of a bit less damage done. As the battle continues, armor from the mech will fly off, which need a bit of a quick dodging so it doesn’t hit Sonic, but also leaves more open weak spots. Eventually, Sonic will be able to win out and leave Tsao to fly off in the Egg-Mobile.

Tsao: “You may have won this round, Sonic, but I will succeed even with your interference! The Tsao family does not lose!” *He flies off.*

Sonic: “Well, I know one thing, he’s terrible at everything. You guys good?”

Sly nods: “A bit shaken from speeding up and down the river with Murray’s rowing, and he’s tired, but we’re okay.”

Sonic: “I’ll get you guys to land.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sonic raises two fingers in a V before getting back to pushing the boat to the dock with a fade out.*

\-----

**Reestablishing Communications**

  * Turn the satellite dishes up around the village.
  * Install radio wave boosters on the mountain peaks.



*We return play to Sly who stands at the end of the dock with Sonic.*

Sly: “Thanks, Sonic. We really owe you one there.”

Sonic: “Don’t worry about it, it’s what I like doing. Now go and do your thing.”

Bentley rolls up: “Wait, Sonic, don’t leave just yet. We got a problem.”

Sonic: “What is it?”

Bentley: “For some reason, there’s terrible interference preventing us from being able to connect via computers. I would say it’s something like the wifi being down, but it’s not related to that at all.”

Sonic: “Hmm… I wonder if Tsao has already started raising the Dark Gaia forces, as that could be causing the interference.”

Sly: “Well, what can we do?”

Sonic: “From what I can see from these close buildings, the antennas have been bent down. Go on and tilt the antennas back upwards into the sky. Meanwhile, I’m going to tell Tails to go out and put out some signal boosters around Chun-nan’s mountain’s which should help cut through the interference and get us connected again.”

Bentley: “Uh… yeah, that’s exactly right.”

Sonic: “Heh, I do pay attention to Tails ramblings, and though I don’t understand it all, I do my best to know it.”

Sly smirks: “Alright, ya nerds, let’s hurry and get to work.”

Sly now has the freedom to go into the village and work to turn all of the antennas upwards and finish his side of the mission. There are 30 antennas in total, and just need a hit from Sly’s cane to fix [Cartoon logic always works. Never question it.]. If needed, waypoints will appear to show the rest of the antennas. Near to Tsao’s base, the palace in this village, we witness a little cutscene…

*Tsao stands in the front palace yard and uses his powers of darkness to raise some dead, but only succeeds in bringing up 2 Mantis Vampires.*

Tsao:  “Bah, not nearly enough at this rate, and I didn’t succeed at getting the Dark Gaia minions out. I need to recheck the scrolls, maybe I can work the Green Emerald in to it.”

*He goes back inside his palace.*

Once Sly’s job is done, he returns to the safehouse and we move our play on to Tails, who just got finished being briefed.

Tails: “Ah, I got the perfect thing then. I can use these signal boosters I made when Dark Gaia brought his minions out. I found that their energy disrupted most normal communications, but when I used these, it cut through the interference they bring. I think placing 3 among the mountains should do it.”

Sonic: “Heh, I figured you knew how, Tails. Well, I won’t keep you to your work.”

Tails’ mission is simple enough, just fly to the tops of the mountains that have waypoints placed upon them, press  **O** , and he’ll set up a signal booster. Just be cautious of the guards patrolling around the mountain. The stone dragons are also somewhat of a danger, spitting fireballs in our range, but they are only dangerous on the inner side of the mountains. Once it’s done, the mission ends.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Tails jumps up and gives a V with his fingers while flying.*

\-----

**Intermission 2**

*Tails operates the slides as he brings up the first one, which is a view of the palace.*

Bentley: “I’m going to keep this briefing short, since Tsao could be listening. Seeing as how Tsao has disappeared into his palace, I’m going to take a chance and infiltrate in there, and figure out his plans. It’s risky, but I am oddly confident this mission has a good chance of success.”

*The slide is changed to the Gaia Temple’s entrance.*

Sonic: “Hey, how about Murray heads on over to the Gaia Temple and meet my friend, Chip? He might have a suggestion on defeating Tsao and just to make sure he’s not being swamped by Dark Gaia minions… just in case.”

Bentley: “It sounds like a good idea, yeah.”

Murray: “I won’t let you down, Sonic.”


	12. Episode 3: Kung Tsao Rooster: Job 6 through Operation Intermission

**Raising the Dead**

  * Sneak through the palace.
  * Find out General Tsao’s plans.



Bentley rolls out and makes his way over to the palace Tsao has taken over, keeping to the long shadows made by the western bound moon. It hangs just above the mountain range, about to hide beneath them. The stars are dimmer, perhaps suggesting sunrise was soon. The palace the turtle was heading to was quite extravagant, in the usual red and gold colors and mostly made of wood. Cherry blossom trees line up along the walls, and most of the hills left untouched in front and back of the palace. Stone paths snake around the hills, and stone bridges gap the natural streams they made up here. All-in-all, the place was very beautiful… if it weren’t for the gaudy Tsao statues and banners the rooster had already placed. Of course, Bentley has no time to enjoy the scenery as he enters the back door which was less guarded.

The inside of the palace is grand and expansive, with plenty of tables, treasure, and room appropriate furniture spread around. Unfortunately, Tsao’s gaudiness spread inside too, with his banners streamed everywhere with the inclusion of pots. The pots looked to be a sort of invasion alarm, meant to be knocked over by accident or on purpose if an intruder is found.

Bentley: “Hmm, I’m going to have to be careful, if I need to fight, I need to make sure I’m alone. But these pots… maybe I can use them to pull guards away.”

Our work isn’t going to be easy since Bentley can’t totally rely on stealth. Instead, he can have the best chance of success by hiding in the various rooms he can enter, and drop a pot with his darts, used in his binocucom view and pressing  **Square** to fire one. Most of the time, only one will come will check it out and fix the pot, which gives us the perfect chance to defeat the guard/badnik and move on.

The upper floors get a bit more difficult, as rooms get multiple connections that can lure in more guards, but don’t fret, as Bentley’s sleep darts can break some of the badniks, and will always work on guards to make sure no one gets alerted.

The top floor will be the trickiest, since Tsao is around and he can’t be sleep-darted, not that he should be anyways since we need his information. But getting close to him is out of the question, as Bentley would become a part of Tsao’s turtle soup before that happens.

Sly: “I wouldn’t take the chance using sleep or even listening darts. Tsao knows us and is expecting most anything we try to do.”

Bentley: “Indeed… but maybe there might be another way. I saw security cameras set up around the building. Maybe I can hack into them from this floor.”

Sly: “The surveillance room looks to be in the northwestern room, think you can get in?”

Bentley: “I must, so we can stop Tsao.”

With clever uses of breaking pots and guard neutralization, Bentley quickly takes access of the surveillance room. Our view changes to 4 monitors, one for each floor, and we can focus on one specifically by selecting it with the  **Left Analog Stick** and pressing  **X** . And from this view, he can cut to a different view by pressing  **X** ,  **Square** ,  **Triangle** or  **O** .

Our job is to keep on Tsao, changing cameras as needed so we can listen on his plans that he’s muttering to himself about. As time goes on, Tsao will tend to creatively switch floors, but we can keep up to him. Just don’t take too long, as more than 10 seconds of no Tsao fails the mission.

Tsao walks around, starting in front of his room carrying a scroll: “Mmm, yes, YES!! There it is! This is perfect! The Green Emerald will work in the ritual! I will be able to raise my ancestors AND the Dark Gaia minions with it. I will have my undead army!”

Tsao, having flipped down onto the second floor: “Hmm, I’m going to need to have lots of sigils and other magical items just to even attempt this, but I’m sure I can beat some obedience from these guards and robots and work them overtime.”

Tsao, having walked down to the first floor: “I wonder if Doctor Eggman was correct in having some of my guards and his badniks causing trouble in the temple to make the process easier. No matter, even if it fails, I have got this completely handled!”

*With all this information, Bentley rolls away from the cameras.*

Bentley: “So that’s what Tsao has planned. I better get out of here and tell the others.”

Bentley just has to work his way out the way he came in, avoiding Tsao’s various floor changing and any leftover guards and badniks. Once out, the mission ends.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Bentley does a wheelie in his wheelchair.*

\-----

**The Temple of Gaia**

  * Navigate the temple.
  * Defeat the minion intruders.



Murray sneaks on off from their secondary safehouse and makes his way to the Gaia Temple to the North. There are plenty of water features flowing, like fountains and small streams. Bamboo shoots make small walls to allow paths around the natural rock features here. Dragon statues are made from the rock faces, but they are small compared to the ones flying above in the air. The only place where there is no dragons is a shrine with a phoenix statue on it, where is also feels eerily quiet. Murray approaches the door of the temple, but finds it has already been made ajar even for his size, so he sneaks right on in.

Inside the temple, it is an expansive cave with stones lining the walls and torches lighting up the whole area. Chinese ornamental fences block areas off into sections. Golden-wood gates lead up a slope to the altar of the temple, but it is protected by shimmering purple barriers protecting it from all sides. Waterfalls fall from the back and flow freely in streams down to the entrance through holes, but also head off in other directions too to pools. The northern side of the temple is cool enough to have icicles hanging from the ceiling and have a chill in the air. Water barrels can be found nearly everywhere for use.

Murray’s echoes off the walls: “Wow… it’s so big!”

*A familiar voice speaks from the silence, but the speaker is hard to tell.*

????: “Huh? A new voice? A-are you friend or foe?”

Murray looks around for the voice, but can’t find it: “I’m a good guy. I know Sonic!”

????: “You don’t sound like the rest… but I can’t be sure you’re lying either. Prove you are good by getting rid of those enemies patrolling around here in this temple.”

Murray: “Don’t worry, it won’t take long! Your temple will be cleaned out soon!”

Murray has his work cut out for him, having to fight 60 guards, badniks, Dark Gaia minions and Mantis Vampires that are scattered out among the temple. Some are easy to get to, but others will need to have puzzles solved in order to reach them. A small note that the temple is thematically using the elements to their advantage, in this case, Chun-nan’s temple has water in it to use on the elements.

Since this temple does have water in it, Murray’s going to have to do some swimming in order to get around. But how, we ask, can a hippo swim when they cannot? Simple, by just repeatedly jumping. By repeatedly pressing  **X** , Murray can hop up and down in the water to emulate swimming (It should remind us of a certain hedgehog who uses similar swimming tactics.) Murray does have an advantage however with having a jumping bound along the floor of the water by going in a direction and holding onto the  **X button** , quickly covering ground. Also from being a hippo, he has the best air time of the group, lasting a long while without a bubble. Oh, and to get out of the pool, just press  **O** near the ladders to have Murray climb out if need be.

Obviously, for the ice section, Murray will have to use his Thunderflop to shatter the ice and go underwater and use his strength to push ice blocks around. In a few cases, he’ll have to toss a water barrel to freeze the water onto something to move on like making an ice block or freezing water jets for stairs and pitfall crossing. If an enemy gets frozen here, Murray can toss them at walls or other enemies and make them shatter, no matter how big they are.

The western side of the temple is filled with electricity crackling along lightning poles, tesla coils and faulty machinery that are as dangerously painful to Murray as it is to the enemies. Some fences do block the way to getting deeper, but breaking the faulty machines from a safe differents can cut off the power to make it through them. Other times, Murray can toss water barrels on the badniks and guards that have electric shields around them to short circuit/shock and defeat them easily.

The eastern side is more earthen, with boulders Murray can push and smash to get around. To smash the bigger boulders, he’ll need to toss water barrels on them, up to 3, to make it mushy enough to shatter when punched. Also present are some lava pools that can have water be tossed onto them to cool it off long enough for Murray to get across. Throwing some water on a lava geyser can make great elevators too.

And, of course, the southern side is the fire fields, where burning torches and rampant fire abound. Might not be a bad idea to put them out with water barrels, but it is also a good idea to make fire burn the enemies with ease. Murray can also grab some torches and use them to burn flammable objects to move on.

Once all the enemies are defeated, the barriers drop, allowing Murray to climb up to the altar.

Murray: “Hello? I defeated all the monsters messing up the temple. You can come out now.”

????: “Hmm, it seems to be true… I hope you’re not lying.”

*With a flash of green light, a strange creature appears in the altar with Murray, half translucent.*

Murray: “Are you the one Sonic calls Chip?”

Chip: “Huh? You know Sonic? W-where is he? I need his help!”

Sonic, through the binocucom: “Put this on Chip’s head, Murray.”

Murray: “Oh! Sure.” He places it on Chips head, which is just solid enough to not let it fall.

Sonic, to Chip: “It’s okay, Chip, I’m here along with Tails and Knuckles. That hippo you’re talking to is a new friend we’ve made recently, named Murray.”

Murray knew he was mentioned: “Yo.”

Chip: “Okay…”

Sonic: “He also has three other friends, named Sly Cooper, who’s a raccoon, Bentley the Turtle, and Carmelita Fox. They’re here to fix a mistake Sly did that caused the rooster General Tsao to take over Chun-nan.”

Chip: “So that’s why the minions of Dark Gaia are rising again at this temple only.”

Sonic: “Is it bad here?”

Chip: “Not much now with Murray’s defeating of everything amok in here. But you all have to stop this General Tsao before it’s too late! He doesn’t know what forces he’s dealing with!”

Sly: “Nah, he does, he loves disrespecting the dead to make them his army.”

Chip: “No, it’s not just that! If he continues, he’s going to release way too much concentrated Dark Gaia energy. The balance of life will be off!”

Tails: “Uh-oh… you don’t mean?”

Chip: “Yes! This place will warp and twist and anything within range of Chun-nan will die off… including you guys and Tsao!”

Murray: “No! I don’t wanna die!”

Chip: “Then you all have to stop him before he succeeds at raising enough Dark Gaia minions! I think if he raises more than 7 minutes of Dark Gaia minions, this whole place is lost.”

Sly: “I promise you, Chip, that will never happen. Not while we’re here.”

Sonic: “Yeah, we’ll send all the minions back into the Earth.”

Chip: “Thank you, all of you.”

Sonic: “Oh! Um, could you do me a favor, Chip?”

Chip: “Sure! Anything you need, Sonic.”

Sonic: “Would you ready the Gaia Phoenix outside to come out to one of our prayers?”

Chip: “I’ll see what I can do to make them listen, but I can’t promise they’ll help. Maybe you got someone they can trust.”

Sonic: “We’ll try. Thanks Chip!”

Chip: “Of course. Good luck everyone.”

*Chip offers back the headset and smiles as he disappears into light again. With that, Murray can leave the temple and finish the mission.*

**JOB COMPLETE** *Murray shadow boxes a bit until doing an uppercut as his final pose.*

\-----

**Operation Intermission**

*Tails brings up the first slide, of a recent photo of the front of the palace under some construction.*

Bentley: “General Tsao appears to be working at an accelerated pace to get the ritual started, and even this recent recon photo doesn’t represent well how fast he’s working. Of course, we are still going to try our hardest to stop him before it’s too late.”

*The slide changes to a map of the area, and red dots are sprinkled everywhere.*

Bentley: “He didn’t say how many or where they are, but it’s very likely there are sigils, crystals, charms, scrolls, and other forms of ritual marks made to empower the spell. Our goal is to destroy them with no hesitation.”

*The slide changes to the gate into Chun-nan.*

Tails: “Considering Tsao’s cunning, if things start going downhill, we’re going to break in through the guard presence and gates and we’ll reenforce the fight and defeat them if need be. Carmelita, however, will be more focused on stopping Tsao directly.” 

*The slide changes to a picture of the Green Emerald.*

Bentley: “I am willing to cash in on our success however and get the Green Emerald out of his clutches. So, let’s get out there and fry some chicken.”


	13. Episode 3: Kung Tsao Rooster: Operations Sweet and Sour Chicken through Conclusion

**Operation: Sweet and Sour Chicken**

  * Stop the ritual.
  * Clear a path through the Dark Gaia minions.



Sly and the gang leave their safehouse and make their way over to the palace grounds, as an eerie green glow has started to fill the village. It seems to be a mix of the moonlight hitting the Green Emerald, with some extra green light from the flickering flames changing said color, possibly from the ritual starting. Either way, proper dramatic lighting for the fight, isn’t it?

The gang soon files on in to the courtyard, expectedly getting spotted by General Tsao who is on a wooden structure in the middle of the front garden. The Green Emerald sits upon the altar built at the center, floating in wait.

General Tsao: “Ah, Sly Cooper and company. How nice of you to join in the ceremonial ritual of the raising of the dead. I see that blue pincushion was frightened off by your stupidity?”

Sly: “You know better than that, and you know why we’re here.”

General Tsao: “Yes, you’re here to stop my ceremony, and it looks like your whole gang's here. Not wanting to hide are we?”

Bentley: “You should be scared at our confidence, Tsao.”

General Tsao, sarcastically: “Oh yes, I so scared of a worthless legacies raccoon, a dumb turtle, and…” *He ponders on Murray, who he never really met* “a… destructive hippo.”

Murray: “That was a weak insult. Rajan called me worse.”

General Tsao: “Oh, shut up! I never even met you, hippo! Grr… it doesn’t matter. You can’t stop me! I’m starting the ritual now!”

*He laughs as he turns to the Green Emerald and starts to chant.*

Tsao: “Green Emerald, hear me now! I am the great General Tsao! You will do as I say, help me to make these enemies pay! Give me the power I so desire, help me to cause countless ire! Give me the undead army to raise, to turn it onto my enemies to raze! Bring up the Dark Gaia army, so that I may BLAST THESE FOOLS AWAY! *Rooster crows*”

*The gang notices the various magical items start to glow with an aura of purple in the area.*

Bentley: “Oh no! It’s starting! Quick, everyone, we gotta destroy them all!”

While Tsao chants away his above lines for the next 7 minutes, the gang has an important job to do, destroy every glowing magical object. Their purple glow easily stand out among the greenish hues covering the village. The sigils, crystals, charms, scrolls, and other glowing objects are everywhere, but there are some waypoints to point out areas where some still stand and their glow can be spotted from most anywhere nearby. It’s going to require Sly’s acrobatics, Bentley’s bombs, and Murray’s strength to get them all. The ones requiring Bentley’s bombs are because some thicker sheets of metal protect the objects, and his bombs can break through it. And for Murray’s strength, more than just lifting heavy objects out of the way and breaking big things fast, it’s also for lifting a few doors by pressing  **O** a lot upon them. The goal says there is only 70, but the number can go all the way up to 140. 70 is just the amount needed before the time hits 7 minutes. If all 140 are destroyed, the mission quickly moves on from that point.

*If the objective isn’t reached.*

Tsao: “You fools can’t stop me! I win! I WIN!!!” *He laughs as the mission is failed with a fadeout.*

*If the objective is reached, the mission moves on.*

Sly: “You’ve lost, Tsao! We’ve stopped your ritual!

Tsao: “Grrr… bwah hah ha! You guys think you’ve won?!”

Bentley: “You don’t mean?”

Tsao: “Of course! I already had a backup plan, one you could never foil!”

Sly: “No!”

Tsao: “Yes!” *He chants* “Show this fools how much they will fail, arise, ARISE!, Dark Gaia minions and help me prevail!”

*Dark Gaia minions, specifically Master, Nightmares, and Titans start to climb out from the ground in a purple fog.*

Murray: “T-there’s a lot of them!”

Sly: “Way more than I thought we’d expect… but I think we’ve avoided the blow up, haven’t we Bentley.”

Bentley: “O-only if we start defeating these things!”

Tsao: “Go ahead and try, but you will surely fail!”

A fight ensues, as we try and do our best with the gang to fight the minions, but it becomes clear that the gang is suffering something when their attacks get more slower until they just stop entirely.

Sly: “Ergh… what’s happening? I feel so sluggish and weak…”

Murray: “Me too, and I didn’t eat anything bad.”

Sonic, through the binocucom: “Oh no! I know what’s happening! You guys are absorbing up the Dark Gaia energy! It messes with you and makes you feel your negative emotions stronger!”

Sly: *Sighs* “Is… that why I’m starting to feel the heaviness of my lost parents?”

Murray holds Sly’s hand: “It’s okay, buddy, let me hug you.”

*Sly enters Murray’s embrace.*

Bentley: “Um… I-is there room for one more in that hug? I… um…”

Murray: “Feeling scared, buddy?”

*Bentley nods* “Unfortunately… also feeling quite defeated like Sly… h-has Tsao won?””

*Murray pulls in Bentley and hugs them tight.*

Murray: “He never will. I’d hurry over here, guys, before what I can assume is my anger makes me want to punch Tsao to a pulp.”

Sonic: “Don’t worry, we’re on our way!”

With a small fade, we return to the cave safehouse and Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Carmelita come out, ready to fight. With confidence, the party of four easily squash the guard presence and break down the gate to the village with only a few punches from Knuckles with the use of some prompt sparkles. And from there, it’s a short stroll to the palace grounds, where the Dark Gaia minions roam around aimlessly.

Tsao: “Grrr… I knew that hedgehog had backup. And I see that stupid cop that put me away!”

Carmelita: “And I’m going to do it again, and my pistol is going to make you fried chicken!”

Tsao: “Strong words from a faraway team! You can’t get to me! Hah ha!”

Carmelita: “Mmm, he is right… I hate that. He’s well protected.”

Sonic: “Don’t worry, Carmelita, we’ll get you over to Tsao.”

Tails: “Yeah! We’ve dealt with Dark Gaia minions before.”

Knuckles: “Just stick by us and we’ll get you there.”

*Before they can step in very far however, Sonic starts to feel jittery.*

Knuckles: “Sonic? Are you okay?”

Tails: “Uh oh… he’s going to change, I think.”

*Sonic screams in some anguish as he absorbs some of the Dark Gaia mist and becomes a Werehog again, howling. He looks much bigger and fluffier, his spines longer, and his arms long and stretchy. His gloves are ripped and his shoes still alright.*

Werehog: “Aw, man, some good gloves ruined… but now I’m Werehog again.”

Tails: “I’m guessing it’s because of the mist entering your body, remembering you.”

Carmelita: “Huh? If that’s the case, why are we okay?”

Tails: “Hmm… maybe it’s because I work with the Emeralds a lot and I have one in hand? And maybe that’s why you’re not moody like the gang, who are easily susceptible.”

Carmelita: “Like Infinite said… and I guess the same goes for Knuckles?”

Knuckles: “I think so, and because I am connected to the Master Emerald too.”

Tsao shouts from afar: “So that blue hedgehog has a beastly form, huh? No matter, you won’t stop me!”

Werehog: “I’m gonna kick some minion butt!”

Knuckles: “Hey! Leave some for me!”

Tails: “Let’s see if we can sneak you over to Tsao.”

Oh dear, it’s the werehog. It may be a touchy subject, but it wouldn’t make sense to have Unleashed be referenced so much without some Werehog follow up.Thankfully, Werehog Sonic is faster than last time, covering ground easily. And his punches are still as simple as pressing  **Square** and  **O** for left and right punches and  **Triangle** for strong punches. The combos still exist from before, but the attacks are much more faster now. Trust the author, it’s a much better experience than Unleashed, promise.

Anyhow, it ain't that hard to grasp what to do, kick Dark Gaia minion butt until the crowd is thinned out, then defeat guards and badniks and Mantis Vampires until Carmelita and Tails pop up near the structure Tsao is on to the bird's surprise.

\-----

**Boss: General Tsao**

  * Beat General Tsao.
  * Beat General Tsao’s Stone Dragon.



Carmelita: “Hey, Tsao. Why don’t you turn yourself in and save the pain from my Shock Pistol again.”

Tsao turns and smirks at Carmelita: “So even the mighty heroes send a GIRL to do a man’s job. How weak they must truly be. You may have surprised me the last time, but now that we are face to face, I won’t be defeated to your wimpiness.”

Carmelita smirks right back: “If you’re trying to rile me, you’re gonna get real fried.”

Tsao hops back to the other side of the structure, and his hands glow with a black aura: “Then bring it on, weaker sex! Tsao will show you he is truly superior!”

Carmelita heads to the other side and the Shock Pistol crackles with energy: “Now who ordered the chicken, served well done?”

**BOSS: General Tsao**

Standing on opposite sides of the wooden structure, blocked only by the altar with the Green Emerald on it, Carmelita and General Tsao have a shootout with dark magic and electric shocks.

Carmelita: “Hey, since when can you toss your dark magic?”

Tsao: “Hah, I made that stupid Mz. Ruby forcefully teach me how. Nothing like dangling her over her sins makes a woman work hard for me.”

Carmelita: “Why am I not surprised?”

Of course, we can’t attack Tsao willy-nilly; he’ll just use his shield to block the shots. The only time a shot will hit him is if he’s about to fire a shot of his own at us. Of course, that can be a bit dangerous, but a good dodge with the  **L1 or R1 button** will keep us safe. To speed up this battle, it might be a wise idea to send some shots into the Green Emerald that Tsao will sometimes do himself with his black magic. Once it’s full of charge, it will glow cyan or black and the next shot at it will send the combined shots to the target for big damage. If timed right, this can hurt Tsao for more than ⅓ of his health. Just keep on dodging and shocking Tsao at the right time to move on to the next stage.

Tsao: “Grr… heh he. We need more space, so I can show you how weak you are!”

*He grabs the Green Emerald and runs off to the palace.*

Carmelita: “Hey! Get back here!”

A waypoint appears on the roof of the palace, where we are to jump to with Carmelita’s high jump. Once there, Tsao meets us, having the Green Emerald on another alter. There was plenty of chimneys and other things providing cover on the roof.

Tsao: “Now, you will die, worthless police lady!”

Carmelita: “Wow, your insult game is weakening.”

It’s the same as before, but now there’s more cover to hide. Just keep up the shots at the Green Emerald and Tsao and fire when he’s vulnerable. Eventually, the chicken will be defeated here…

General Tsao shakes off the last shock, somewhat dazed but recovers. “Grrr, hah ha, you think you’ve defeated me?”

Carmelita: “I do find it odd you’ve taken quite a frying and still haven’t become tasty yet, yes.”

General Tsao approaches his Emerald: “You foolish woman, you walked right into my trap! You did exactly as I wanted you to do!”

Carmelita: “Okay, I think I may have fried your brain, what the hell are you talking about?”

Tsao: “Don’t you get why I made the Green Emerald absorb our shots?”

Carmelita: “I have no clue.”

Tsao: “Of course you don’t, stupid woman. It’s because I wanted to overcharge the Emerald to  supply my true wish and final plan!!!”

Carmelita: “Final plan?”

Tsao: “Yes! See those stone dragons up there?”

Carmelita: “Sonic did mention them, yeah, and they were noted during recon, but we couldn’t figure their purpose to you.”

Tsao: “I’m the one who awakened those Stone dragon bridges! But I realized that I miscalculated how difficult they were to work with in the air to perform one last ritual. But now, thanks to you charging the Emerald so much, I can know perform the ritual with no worry of wasting the Emerald’s power!”

Sly, sadly through the binocucom: “N-no… you’re not going to make it again?”

Tsao: “Oh, but I am, and it’s going to be bigger and better than the last! All the world will bow to me on my GIANT STONE DRAGON!!!”

Bentley: “C-Carmelita, run!”

Tsao chants: “Green Emerald, hear my wish! Give me the ravenous power I want to dish! Build for me a great stone dragon, one that I may perch myself on! One that makes crowds tremble to me, and help me to defeat my enemies!”

*Carmelita barely escapes the roof just in time as the 6 stone dragons form together into a humongous 6-headed stone dragon perched over it. Tsao climbs up his creation.*

Tsao: “Let’s see what this dragon can do!”

A chase ensues as Carmelita has to avoid the biting heads and swinging claws of the stone dragon and the destruction it brings everywhere. She has to make it over to the Gaia Phoenix shrine to move this mission along. Once at the shrine…

*The red Emerald glows in her pocket as she gets the idea.*

Carmelita: “Let’s see if two can play this game.” *She chants* “Red Emerald, please hear my plea, help me achieve victory. Awaken the Gaia Phoenix from the ground, so that I can send that stupid chicken to town. Gaia Phoenix, please give me your control, so we can return Chun-nan to normal!”

*With a shine of red and a screeching caw, the Gaia Phoenix arises from its shrine, with fire burning from its body. It leans its head down and looks at Carmelita, then offers it to pet.*

Carmelita: “Aw… you trust me?” *She pets the bird’s head.*

*The Gaia Phoenix caws and helps Carmelita onto its neck, and soon they are up in the air and meeting with Tsao and his dragon.*

General Tsao: “So you’ve commanded a monster of your own, I will still take you down like the weakling you are.”

Carmelita: “We'll see, Tsao, but I do know I’ll broil you first.”

**BOSS: General Tsao and his Stone Dragon**

Hey, we couldn’t have a proper Tsao fight if we didn’t have him fight with a stone dragon again. As noted, Carmelita’s being helped by the Gaia Phoenix that Sonic once fought before. The Gaia Phoenix has a few attacks at its disposal, main ones being firing sharp quills with the  **Square** button and performing a fire charge with the  **Triangle** button. The quill attack does have a disadvantage of leaving the bird stuck in place to being hit and needing reloading after running out and being a bit weak to use, but it thankfully quickly reloads once the button is depressed and is just as quick to move as it is to use and the quills never miss their mark. The fire charge is much stronger, doing much more damage to the Stone dragon and keeping the bird invincible till the charge ends, but is slow to perform and Tsao may move out of the way if he’s not attacking too. As for Tsao, he’d rather fight close with quick claw and bite attacks and for ranged attacks, he will make it use water breath to douse the fire bird and keep it away, which is very damaging, and fireballs, which will actually heal the bird, but keep the Gaia Phoenix pushed back.

With all that knowledge in hand, it’s time to use it against Tsao and beat this Rooster for good. 

*With its defeat, the stone dragon finally splits into 6 again, leaving Tsao to fall to Earth. The 6 statues return to being bridges for the village once more. The Green Emerald also falls, but more gently. The Gaia Phoenix lands and lets Carmelita touch ground once more.*

Carmelita: “Sleep well, bird.” *She pets it one more time.*

*It chirps and returns to the ground to sleep once more. Once it does, she heads back on over to the front of the palace, where Tsao was stuck in the wooden structure.*

Tsao: “Free me, you damn fools!”

Carmelita: “The only place you’re freely going to is jail.”

*At this time, the Dark Gaia energy is finally gone and Sonic returns to normal, and the Cooper gang finally rid themselves of their negative emotions.*

Sly: “C-Carmelita! You saved us again!”

Carmelita jokes: “I’m always saving your bacon, aren’t I, Ringtail?

Sly: “Heh, I don’t mind.”

Bentley: “That was spectacular flying, Carmelita, controlling that mythical bird. You’re a natural.”

Murray: “IT WAS AWESOME!!! Better than any action movie we’ve ever seen, and we were actually in the action!”

Carmelita: “Okay, calm down boys, and thanks for all the praise. Heh.”

Tails: “Hey, anyone seen the Emerald?”

Carmelita: “I think it fell out of Tsao’s hand, but it was falling slow.”

Knuckles: “Huh. I wonder where it will land.”

*When he says that, it ends up touching his hands and soon warps him away with a lighting flash of green to its Special Stage…*

**JOB COMPLETE**

\-----

**The** **Green Emerald** **’s Vitality**

  * Get the Chaos Emerald.



*Knuckles arrives in his special stage in a green flash and takes a look at his surroundings which are familiar to him.*

Knuckles: “Hey, this is Angel Island… but papery, hmm…”

*Suddenly, as we look up to the top of the strip, a paper version of Eggman in his Eggomatic steals the Master Emerald and the shake up of the pulling knocks down the Emeralds into the panels below, hiding them.*

Knuckles: “Hey! STOP THAT! I’m going to get you, Eggman!”

Panel 1: Hydrocity Zone

Thankfully, the water here is just scenery and Knuckles being the ham he is, can just punch it all away to reveal stuff behind. In fact, that’s the name of this strip, that the Chaos Emeralds are hidden behind some scenery in each of these Zones and Knuckles has to find it to advance. A radar is near the bottom of the screen, and beeps faster and changes color the closer Knuckles is to the Emerald, from green to red. There’s plenty of stuff to break like paper badniks, paper spikes, those weird structures with things inside, and block walls and columns. Somewhere behind all these is the Blue Emerald. Once an Emerald is found, platforms appear to help lead Knuckle to enter the next panel.

Panel 2: Angel Island Zone

There’s plenty of scenery here, like trees, ‘waterfalls’, rocks, plants and breakable bridges hiding the Green Emerald among them.

Panel 3: Marble Garden Zone

Scenery here includes columns, marble blocks of varying sizes, breakable ground and fruit trees, all of which is hiding the White Emerald.

Panel 4: Carnival Night Zone

There’s a plethora of stuff to break from the balloons, bumpers, block walls, the spinning drums [Take that, BARREL OF DOOM!], lights, and more, in search of the Yellow Emerald.

Panel 5: Mushroom Hill Zone

Bounce and smash mushrooms, elevators, trees and brush, and green stalks out of the way to find the Purple Emerald within.

Panel 6: Ice Cap Zone

Knuckles fights the chill of the ice walls and snow drifts and sculptures in order to find the Red Emerald.

Panel 7: Flying Battery Zone

It’s time to rip this airship a new hole by breaking all the machines, gun batteries, and machine part piles in the search of the Cyan Emerald.

Panel 8: Sky Sanctuary Zone

Onice here, it’s time for Knuckles to get his Master Emerald back from Paper Eggman, who has changed vehicles into a new take of an old machine.

**BOSS: Flying Eggman Redux**

Paper Eggman has split into 7 copies with the real one hidden among them and they look nearly all the same, down to the Master Emerald they are carrying. However, there is always one that is just a bit different than the other 7 that is the real Paper Eggman with the real M.E. Hitting a wrong one will poof the fake, but cause the others to fire a laser shot at Knuckles in retaliation, so be quick to move if they do that [This laser shot too, can sometimes hint whoever’s the real one as well]. Once the real one is hit, 7 fresh copies are made and the process begins again. 8 hits will defeat this Eggman and replace the M.E. where it belongs and making Eggman leave in a burned huff.

Master Emerald speech box: “Thank you for saving me, Knuckles.”

Knuckles: “Ah, it’s just my duty to you, Master Emerald.”

M.E.: “Do you know why you’re here?”

Knuckles: “It was to get the Green Emerald, then had to beat that paper version Eggman.”

M.E.: “Indeed. You must hurry and stop him. He has a very cunning plan to use us with, one you and your friends have never dreamed of.”

Knuckles: “Worse than before?”

M.E.: “Yes, one that might very well threaten the island much more than before. One that might even destroy the island.”

Knuckles: “Destroy… Angel Island?”

M.E.: “We do not know how far his plan is going, but we can tell from the rest of the owners, and from him holding the real Master Emerald, this is going to be one of his evilest plans yet.”

Knuckles: “We’ll stop it, don’t worry.”

M.E.: “I hope you, and your new friends can. The world hinges on your win or loss. If it is of any help, we foresee that the next Emerald you seek, the  **Cyan Emerald** , is with another orange tiger, one who smokes cigars. We’re sorry we can’t give any more insight, as this is what only I could see before being taken by Tsao.”

Knuckles: “It’s alright. It sounds like Sly and his gang might know who you mean… and wait...”

*The M.E. peels itself away and reveals the real Green Emerald behind it and goes to Knuckles’ hands, finishing this world.*

**JOB COMPLETE** *Knuckles jumps into the air with fist raised.*

\-----

**Conclusion** :

*A weary gang is shown, along with Tsao being taken away by a G.U.N. Truck*

Sly, narrating: “After the craziness we just went through, I couldn’t lie that we were so tired, especially after sending Tsao into temporary prison, but evil waits for no one.”

*Knuckles recounts what he learns to Sly, who deduces the next villain as El Jefe, made with cigar smoke and brought in by a Cuban dramatic riff.*

Sly, narrating: “Knuckles relays some information that he learned from the Green Emerald.”

Knuckles: “The Green Emerald said that the Cyan Emerald was taken by another orange tiger, one who loves smoking cigars. Do you know who he means?”

Sly: “We do, it must be… El Jefe.”


	14. Episode 4: The Shogun's Pride: Introduction through First Intermission

**Introduction** :

*The whole gang sleeps upon the wings and seats of the Tornado as Tails pilots and they fly through various zones until mountains soon pop up.*

Sonic, narrating: “Heh, the Cooper gang decided to pretty much sleep upon the Tornado while we went to locate where the Cyan Emerald was. We didn’t know exactly where it would be, but after enough searching, we soon found it in the mountainous region that Sly later told us was resemblant to their Japan.”

*As the Tornado flies through a cloud, it becomes grayer in color to match smoke coming from El Jefe’s cigar. He is shown in a war room, taking over various countries with his figurine, also shown taking 1300’s Japan. When the gang hops in through a green portal, the tiger gets scared and runs.*

Sonic, narrating: “According to Sly, this El Jefe was one bad dude. In their world, he was the equivalent of a one-man army, able to take down countries with his ruthlessness and nearly wiped out his ancestor Rioichi Cooper. Though, this didn’t ring so true when the gang entered Feudal Japan. Apparently, when Sly fought El Jefe, he turned out to be quite the coward when he meets his equal in combat, running as much, if not more, than Sly did.”

*El Jefe is soon shown behind bars working with cigars, until Eggman’s insignia breaks open the door and he’s shown shaking Eggman’s hand. Eggman gives him the Cyan Emerald and orders him off to the mountains.*

Sonic, narrating: “He was sent back to prison, forced to work making cigars without smoking them. But Eggman has released him from his hell, letting him both freely smoke again and act as the mercenary of evil he is. Now, we weren’t sure why Eggman sent El Jefe to this region with the Cyan Emerald, but one of our friends soon told us why.”

*Cream shows up on the Miles Electric, calling about how she and her mother had to leave after the tiger started ravaging around. She notes that they were there to see the Elementals, pointing out 3 colored jewels that are on fire, frozen, and buzzing with electricity, respectively. She notes that if someone were to find these Elementals, they’d become powerful with these elements. This causes Sonic to think of El Jefe wielding the power and defeating everyone with it.*

Cream: “Mr. Sonic! Please help us! Me and my momma just run away from Sangakurin while we were in the middle of our vacation! An evil tiger with swords terrorized people with fire and electricity! We think he heard of the Elementals of Fire, Ice, and Electricity found deep inside the dangerous mines of the mountain, and wants them for his own gain. He might even become super powerful!”

Sonic, narrating: “I assured Cream it’d be okay, but I knew we had to stop El Jefe before it was too late and he gets the drop on everyone.”

Sly Cooper, his Gang, and Team Sonic in:

*A tiger’s hand, El Jefe’s, is shown smoking a cigar that blows smoke and reveals the title card of this Episode: ‘ **The Shogun’s Pride** ‘.*

\-----

**Hub Layout** : As noted by Cream earlier, this region of mountainous forests is called Sangakurin and is some mountains making a valley with a village in the middle within the forests that take up the whole place. The mountain peaks are covered in snow and ice and are connected to each other with ski lifts and slopes. Going down, the snow melts and are just the usual mountain paths and bridges spanning the more distant mountains to each other. And further down, at the base of the mountains, are access areas to mines inside. In the central, tallest mountain to the north is a shrine holding small pieces of the 3 Elementals, meant for praying. In the central area of this place is a small Japanese village, with only a few homes and buildings meant to be gathering spots. Forests spread from the village to the south, thickening up and hiding the place from view unless someone deliberately went there.

On top of the tallest mountain is a huge statue of El Jefe, made of some sort of gold and metal and desecration as always. It has a multitude of rooms inside and El Jefe overlooks it all from the eyes and mouth. Of course, entering it is hard as well, requiring keys needed to unlock the stations on each mountain to open the door for anyone other than El Jefe. The gang, meanwhile, have hid themselves in a ranger station in the forest, just out of sight of everything.

Enemies:

  * **Macaque Monkeys** : Anthro monkeys El Jefe found and scared into becoming his foot soldiers. They’re more dangerous than before, having wood bazookas made from redwoods that can handle stronger bazooka shells for bigger blast damage. And it would hurt to get hit by their swing at close range anyways. They also tend to dodge if they aren’t close enough, preventing them from getting hit. They carry or drop 7-9 rings and are likely to give the small treasure.
  * **Japanese Cranes** : El Jefe’s trusted range units are much better than they were back in Feudal Japan. For one thing, they gained much better bows with modern technology that allows them to miss less, though a fast dodge will prevent the pain. They also throw shurikens for quick damage if they feel threatened. They carry or drop 8-10 rings and are likely to give medium sized treasures.
  * **Boars** : El Jefe’s generals look and are as tough as they should be. They can use their tusks at short range to impale foes and send them flying. They will use their samurai swords as their main weapon to slice foes. And from afar, when threatened, they will use crossbows. They carry or drop 9-11 rings and are likely to give large treasures.
  * **Miner Pawns** : The usual worker pawns that carry pickaxes and wear helmet lights. They're more dangerous of alerting nearby enemies than their easy to dodge pickaxe. Drops 9 rings when smashed.
  * **Tengu-Spin** : They look to be somewhat of a cross between a Tengu, which is an avian, and an Egg Pawn, mostly noticed by long noses. Their arms are replaced with feather  wing fans which they can use to blow gusts of wind and send most everyone other than Murray away (Murray more ends up pushed back than blow upwards.). If they’re too close, they’ll perform a spin to cut up their opponent. Drops 10 rings when smashed.
  * **Tricksune** : Robotic fox/kitsune with 9 separate tails and gold plating. Considerably, they do not attack directly, but instead tend to be floating flames, fake trees, or even copies of the other enemies. They attack indirectly by forcing the attacker into falling into a spike trap they placed or just tripping them over into an enemy to hurt them. They’re a little strong, needing each tail knocked off first before actually getting defeated. Drops 11 rings when smashed.
  * **Kappa-Kappa-Phi** : Robotic turtles/Kappas that are part Egg Pawn and wear turtle costumes and they come in pairs. The costume actually protects them from being destroyed naturally, but there are ways to defeat it, involving the gyroscope on top of its head that’s exposed. Murray can easily toss these things to defeat them, Knuckles just needs to punch them till they fall over, Sonic needs to perform multiple spin dashes for the same effect, and Bentley needs to bomb them off balance then spin them. Sly will have to a Ninja Spire Jump upon their heads to make them try to do the same and fall over and Tails and Carmelita only have to bow by pressing the **O button** to make them bow and show their gyroscopes to break. Drops 12 rings when smashed.



Treasures:

From Guards:

  * _Small Talisman (Monkey)_ : Worth 30 rings.
  * _Medium Talisman (Crane)_ : Worth 35 rings.
  * _Large Talisman (Boar)_ : Worth 40 rings.
  * _Small Aquamarine_ : Worth 45 rings.
  * _Medium Aquamarine_ : Worth 50 rings.
  * _Large Aquamarine_ : Worth 55 rings.



On Pedestals:

  * _Necklace of Talismans_ : Hey, someone is missing 3 Talismans from this thing! Now how would one become the master of Kung-Fu? Aw well. Worth 75 rings. If one of each Talisman are sold before this necklace, it jumps to 250 rings. Found near to the shrine at the bottom of the mountain.
  * _7 Orange Balls_ : Hmm, they oddly have stars on them, but they look to be just painted on. Guess that means no wishes. Worth 125 rings. Found near one of the weather stations to the west.
  * _Very Ornate Jar_ : Hey, it has a charm on it that says it contains spirits inside. Might not be a smart idea to let this break. It’s fragile and will break with the slightest hit and hurt the stealer. Worth 175 rings. Found in the abandoned village.



~~Jobs~~

**Forest Recon**

  * Recon the mining equipment.
  * Get pictures and samples of the Elemental shards.
  * Recon the stations and statue.



*Sly sneaks out the front door of the safehouse and climbs up and the trees to look at their surroundings.*

Sly: “Huh, if I didn’t know any better, I’d be almost convinced we were in Japan again.” *He spots the El Jefe statue* “Geez, barely 2 days and he already has a gaudy statue?”

Sonic: “Probably made from one of Eggman’s statue molds, since he makes statues just as quick.”

Sly: “Just what the big baby needs, more ego. Well, I better get to the recon.”

From here, it’s the perfect shot to grab a picture of El Jefe’s base and start off this episode. Since the nap the Cooper Gang was more like an 8 hour sleep, most of the day has flown by and evening has overcome the valley. The sun’s rays glisten upon the snow, turning it a vibrant orange that fills the valley with a similar light. The light also glows upon El Jefe’s statue, making it glow.  It’s a mix of beautiful and uneasiness, since the oppressor of the region looms overhead.

Sly always loves getting recon for the team, and these pictures are no exception. He’s got to get photos of the mining equipment so they know what to destroy later, some recon of the stations that let people in to El Jefe’s base, and then get some photos of the Elemental shards.

*Upon getting some photos of the mining equipment.*

Bentley: “Hmm, drills, cranes, and mine carts. I wonder how far they are along?”

Tails: “They could be far in, but destroying them might slow their progress no matter what.”

Sly: “I think I know what Murray’s doing later, heh.”

*Upon the recon of the station.*

Sly: “Hmm, locked by a single key. Nothing I can’t do by myself.”

Bentley: “Indeed. I wonder what El Jefe has in there…”

*Upon getting photos of the Elemental Shards.*

Sly: “This must be where people go to pray to these Elementals. Not that I understand praying to gods very much.”

Sonic: “You might want to here, gods do exist, like Chip, the one Murray met earlier.”

Sly: “Yeah, like gods would want to help a master thief. Um, anyways, need anything else?”

Bentley: “Actually, yeah. Could you snap off a piece of each of them? We can use them to track the bigger gems they come from.”

Sly: “Gotcha, buddy.”

It’s as simple as smacking it with the cane enough to chip off a piece. They do respond with a bit of heat, snow, and a small shock to Sly, but the damage is very negligible.

*Once everything is done.*

Sly: “I think I got everything I can get. Heading back to the safehouse.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sly leans upon his cane, smiling.*

\-----

**Intermission 1**

*The first slide is of the mining equipment.*

Bentley: “Although we don’t know how far along El Jefe is with his mining scheme, any halt of progress is good news for us. So of course…”

Murray: “Oh! OH!! ME!!! I wanna blow stuff up!”

Bentley: “How could I not, Murray? You can even use the dynamite they have littered around everywhere. Might make it even easier.”

*The slide changes to a wide shot of the valley.*

Tails: “While we’re working on figuring out every signature these Jewels run on, someone has to place geographical sensors on the peaks so we can find out how the mines are and know where to look. Since it means going out on the snow…”

Sonic: “I gotcha buddy. I’ll snowboard them and get the sensors where they need to be.”

*The slide changes to one of the stations.*

Bentley: “Then that means Sly will go on ahead and steal those keys needed to open up the stations. I’m not sure what we’ll find inside, but I’m sure we’ll overcome the obstacles in our way.”

~~Thiefnet Upgrade~~

  * _Electric Charge, Level 1_ : 400 Rings [Description: The orange electric upgrade to Sly’s cane from Sly 3, letting him do a spin attack or shocked downswing when he jumps. Press the Triangle button to charge it up.]
  * _Explosive Growth_ : 450 Rings [Doubles the radius and power of Bentley’s bomb, making them more effective on enemies and blowing up metal stuff faster.]




	15. Episode 4: The Shogun's Pride: Job 2 through Second Intermission

**Mechanical Madness**

  * Destroy the mining equipment.



Murray leaves the safehouse and heads down the path to the town where his mission can begin.

Murray: “Alright! I get to destroy private property! El Jefe won’t even know what hit him!”

Bentley: “Well, since you know what to do, may I suggest also using the dynamite that are in baskets around the area?  That might make breaking things much easier.”

Murray: “Thanks, buddy! I just might!”

It’s quite an easy job, just break the 40 pieces of mining equipment scattered around the area. They are found in groups of four and pointed out with waypoints if any are left. The dynamite is a bit more scattered out but they are usually close by to the waypoints as well. The mine carts are easiest to destroy with just a stick of dynamite or 3 attacks. Drills follow with 2 sticks or 6-7 attacks. Cranes follow last with 3 sticks, or 9-10 attacks, but this can be sped up if Murray finds some way to use the crane arm against the machine. Also be wary that a few machines may be guarded by the Kappa badniks, that Murray will need to toss over with his strength and break their gyroscopes to defeat them.

Once everything is destroyed…

Murray: “And the last machine bites the dust! Metal has no chance against the might of THE MURRAY!”

Bentley: “Heh he, alright, you ham. Back to the safehouse now.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Murray smiles and does a strongman pose for his victory.*

\-----

**Crystal Configuration**

  * Place the geographical sensors.



Sonic leaves the safehouse and turns up the speed over to one of the nearby slopes on the most western mountain, where a snowboard sticks out of the snow and nearby are geographical sensors stacked up. The design of the snowboard is mostly shades of blue striped from the center outwards, with the darkest blue, which is Sonic’s color, in the middle.

Sonic: “Sweet! Been a while since I got to snowboard.”

Tails: “Yeah, but I know you got it, Sonic. Do you also see the sensors?”

Sonic: “Yep, and I got them. So, I'm going to use the snowboard to reach the snow-covered peaks of each mountain and plant the sensors there?”

Tails: “You got it. Oh! There’s something else you have to know.”

Sonic: “What is it buddy?”

Tails: “You have to be going at a certain speed to automatically turn on each sensor, because it was too cold up there to use buttons or batteries. Once it turns on, then you can place it with no worry of it shutting off.”

Sonic: “So… I’m actually going fast for a good reason? Sweet!”

Tails: “Heh he, I thought you’d like the idea. Good luck Sonic!”

Sonic: “This is gonna be exhilarating.”

Aw, yeah, this is happen- *The writer bricks self* Sorry, couldn’t resist. *Ahem* So, Sonic finds himself upon the slippery snow slopes of the mountains of this place, and the only way to progress anywhere is by snowboarding. Sonic will automatically push himself upwards of the frozen and snowy paths, so it’s all our matter to dodge with the Quick Step ( **L1** for quick left change and  **R1** for quick right change) of obstacles and enemies. Obstacles mostly end up being ice crystals, jutting logs, spike traps, snow drifts and snowmen that suspiciously look like Eggman, and rock clusters. Later, upon the wires of the ski lifts, Sonic will have to jump from wire to wire to avoid snow, hooks of the ski chairs, exposed electrics, and thrown pickaxes.

Since this is Sonic, speed is key, and we’re working to build plenty of it, as the bar on the side shows. The faster Sonic is going, the faster and higher the bar will fill up, being charged up at the top. Only there will Sonic be able to place the sensors when he passes by their waypoints. To build up speed, he’s going to have to do tricks off ramps to build it. Thankfully, it’s as simple as pressing a button ( **X** ,  **O** ,  **Square** ,  **Triangle** ,  **R2** and  **L2** ) on the ramp and Sonic will perform a trick as soon as he gets off the ramp. Now, the special part comes in that the closer to the end of the ramp the trick is performed, the more speed Sonic will gain when he lands. And if he can chain off the trick ramps, he’ll gain even more speed. The same can be done on the wires, but mostly when he flips to another wire.

In order, Sonic works his way up the first mountain to its top to place the first sensor. From there, he hops onto the guide rails of the ski lift to the second mountain, jumping off near the peak to place the second sensor at the top. Onwards, he rides more ski lifts to the tallest mountain with the base on it, and placing the sensor right up there. Downwards now, Sonic grinds down the other ski lifts and slopes to place the fourth and the last sensor on the final 2 mountains. With a bit of extra fun, and for plenty of rings, Sonic snowboards down the mountain and slides his way back to the safehouse to finish the mountain.

Sonic: “Yahoo! That was fun!”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sonic does a breakdance.*

\-----

**Station Square One**

  * Get the keys for the stations.
  * Hack in the four stations to open the base.



Sly leave the safehouse and heads down to the open clearing past the woods as he starts his mission.

Sly: “Hmm, so four simple keys, eh? That’s quite easy.”

Bentley: “Yeah, but I am not sure what we might find inside the stations. If it’s something troublesome, just tell me, okay?”

Sly: “Course, buddy. See you in a few.”

It’s time for the staple of the Sly series: pickpocketing. Easy as sneaking up behind an enemy and pressing the  **O button** to grab stuff from their pocket when they’re close enough. [Of course, it’s been doable since the start, but this is just the relevant point to bring it up.] Careful standing in front of them though, as the guards aren’t that stupid/blind. Also, running beside them is ill advised, as that arouses their suspicions too.

Waypoints will appear over 4 guards that will have the keys needed to open up the stations. One walks around near the shrine for the Elemental Shards, another walks around the wood, and the final two walk up and down the bridges and mountain paths.

With all of them in hand, it’s anyone’s choice on which station to choose first, as the same thing happens as soon as Sly unlocks the door after defeating the guarding Kappa Kappa Phi.

Sly: “Let’s see what’s behind Door #1.”

Sly opens the door into the station and inside finds technology lining every wall. Apparently, these were once weather stations for the mountains, but El Jefe decided to enforce some extra protection with security cameras watching his base and the mines, all watched by a big guard. With the defeat of the guard, Sly finds that he is way out of his league with the tech needed to even allow access to unlock the door.

Sly: “Bentley? I’m going to need you. This is.. way too complicated for me.”

Bentley: “Okay, buddy, I’m on my way.”

With a fade-out, we trade on over to Bentley and roll him on over to Sly’s location to deal with the computer.

Bentley: *Whistles* “Wow, these computers are quite an advancement from our world’s.”

Sly: “Think you can still hack it?”

Bentley: “In the end, it’s just a matter of working the right codes. Let’s just hope incompetency crosses universes.”

*With some clattering of keys, Bentley starts working his hacking magic.*

Bentley: “Hmm, oh? This is a surprise.”

Sly: “What is it?”

Bentley: “Looks like the computer world… actually exists here. More than just electrons flowing down pathways and all that.”

Sly: “Like… it’s a physical space?”

Tails: “Oh! I did forget to tell you guys that, huh? Um… without being too complicated, yes, it does exist in reality, and we think it has to do with the Chaos Emeralds. It’s definitely weird to say the least.”

Sly: “Hm. Not the weirdest thing to me, I think I’m used to it.”

Bentley: “Same here. Alright then, I can work this. Here we go.”

With a digital fade, we enter a familiar plane to Sly Cooper fans as Bentley’s tank appears on a cybernetic grid, though it’s a bit different than before. Here in Sonic’s world, mainframes of computers ARE worlds of their own making. For example, here in these weather stations, the grids wrap around a blue digital version of the mountain. To note some interesting things,  antivirus programs are crystalline ships that require a few shots to destroy, firewalls exist as literal walls of fire on circuit paths, and password screens as strange blocks that change color when hit until they are destroyed. Bentley’s got his work cut out for him to dodge and fight all these things to open the nodes that unlock the door at El Jefe’s hideout.

As stated, each of these hacking areas starts upon a winding path around a digital mountain all the way down to ground level, having to fight various digital badniks along the way to advance like the long shot Kyuras, the spike-dropping Flickeys, the defensive-spinning Stars and the lob-shot Clams. At the bottom, we are greeted by a circuit entrance which quickly speed us along circuits to El Jefe’s door. Some of the circuits are safe while others are blocked by firewalls that do big damage. With the top-down perspective we have, it shouldn’t be too hard to avoid them by simply holding the direction of the other circuit when they are spotted. Once at the end of the track, it’s just a matter of pushing over a node to the ‘on’ position to finish hacking the computer and partially unlock the door. This is required among the other 3 computers, where their hacks have a bit more badniks and protective measures making it a bit more difficult, but not too much.

*Once the fourth node is finally flipped, the door to El Jefe’s base in the real world opens ups.*

Sly: “Awesome, we’re in, buddy.”

Bentley: “Don’t mention it. I certainly laid these computers bare. Let’s hurry and regroup to discuss our next moves with the others.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Bentley and Sly high five each other in victory.*

\-----

**Intermission 2**

*The first slide is one of the mine entrances.*

Bentley: “Now that we got the sensors up and running, we’re starting to get some clear pictures of the mines they have set up. However, it seems they have not had luck finding the Jewels yet. Considering how I’ve heard how well you two work together, Sonic and Tails, you both are off to find them. I suspect they are in uncharted caves, so you may need to rely on more than just a map to find them.”

Sonic: “Heh, with my buddy, we’ll find them in no time flat.”

Tails: “Yeah. I better go pack some extra things.”

*The slide changes to the El Jefe statue.*

Bentley: “Since we unlocked the door, we should waste no time trying to break in to El Jefe’s base and lay eyes on his plans for this place. We all have theories, but it’s nice to get the hard facts for certain, since he is a dangerous adversary.”

Sly: “Hmm, I think this might require most to all of our skills, Bentley.”

Bentley: “Possibly, but we got this. It’s a 99% chance of success.”

*The slide changes to the area in general.*

Bentley: “Anywho, once we find out what we can about El Jefe’s plans, then it’s just a matter of blowing up his base later. There possibly might be a way with the materials in the area, but I’d like to let our bomb expert, Carmelita, determine what we can do.”

Carmelita: “Hmm? Me? I did get high marks on that at the academy, and they do ask me on disarming bombs sometimes. There might be something, though it could require a lot of digging.”

Knuckles: “Just leave that to me.”

Bentley: “Alright then, let’s get to work.”

~~Thiefnet Upgrades~~

  * _Blue Super Tornado_ : 450 Rings [Description: Sonic’s Blue Tornado gets upgraded to toss bigger enemies and items into the air, and generally does more damage to anything it picks up.]
  * _Shock Pistol Upgrade_ : 500 Rings [Description: Lessens the charge time for Carmelita’s Shock Pistol by a couple seconds for each level.]




	16. Episode 4: The Shogun's Pride: Job 5 through Operation Intermission

**Spelunking**

  * Find the Elemental Jewels.



Sonic, along with his trusty buddy Tails, leave the safe house and fly on over to one of the mine entrances. The valley now is shrouded in darkness since the sun is below the mountain line, and only the tips and the upper half of the El Jefe statue are violet in color and the sky a more darker red. The only light available is of the sporadic Japanese lanterns on buildings and paths around the area. At the entrance of the mine is 2 Kappa-Kappa-Phi robots that they can easily defeat with their skills.

Sonic: “I hope we don’t get lost in here, especially because we’re going off the beaten path.”

Tails:  “We’ll be okay. I’m going to be placing markers for the sensor on top of the mountain so it can better see inside, and thus help our map be more complete.”

Sonic: “All right. So we’re looking for the biggest crystals, correct? Possibly red, cyan, and yellow in color?”

Tails: “Yeah, but I’d be careful touching them. They might be more powerful than we realize and hurt us.”

Sonic: “Right, be gentle. Well, let’s get exploring.”

With only a change in lighting, we find ourselves in the new surroundings of the mines. As one would expect from a mine, light fixtures hang and swing upon most of the ceilings. Wood and metal braces hold up the larger portions of the mine, though there are plenty of natural cave formations around everywhere providing their own paths. The walls of the cavern are also special with how they glow in respect to the Elemental Jewels that are nearby. But along with the glow, the Elemental Jewels also have an effect on the environment around them. Around the Fire Elemental Jewel, the cavern uses torches and fire pits instead because they burn much brighter. And around the Electric Elemental Jewel, the lights shine much brighter too and electricity can sometimes flow around rods. And around the Ice Elemental Jewel, a chill fills the air with visible ice everywhere. Even between the 3 main jewels, the elements have fused together to form new things. In between the Fire and Ice jewels are plentiful amounts of water. In between the Fire and Electric jewels are both explosive materials and storage devices like batteries to contain the power made there. And in between the Ice and Electric jewels are plenty of rocks and very windy caverns.

In fact, that’s the challenges of these mines, with working the elements to our advantage to get ahead and find the elemental jewels. Combining elements will be key to get around the obstacles present. Sonic and Tails are able to carry around the smaller rocks, dynamite and batteries but the  **T-Pup** will have to be used on the bigger items that also includes some large fire pots, ice crystals and water barrels, and much bigger rocks and batteries. Their own skills will be useful as well, with Sonic’s speed and Spin Dash key to work sort-of treadmills to raise gates and move some platforms around, and Tails’ flight to reach some of higher things needed to move on and his mechanic skills to rewire dead machines with the simple mini game.

The small rocks are very useful to knock various targets to drop drawbridges, move things around, and cause little cave ins to fill gaps with rocks. Dynamite is useful for breaking open walls and rocks that block the way. The batteries are useful for powering the devices around to work platforms and other machinery. Fire pots make useful ice melters and creating steam in the watery areas. Ice crystals make good fire extinguishers and creating frozen pathways over water. Water barrels, besides also being fire extinguishers, make useful ice liners over spikes, rendering them harmless and creating a laminar flow with electricity to make something work or spread the current along. And the wind can blow fires and rocks around.

Even stranger still, being close to the elemental jewels brings up weird properties around Sonic and Tails, mostly in forms of Fire Shields, Electric Shields, and Ice Shields. Fire Shields are useful for burning overgrown vegetation, steam up water and melt ice, and crossing through fire. Electric Shields protect the bros from shocks, spark machinery, but also draw rings in to them, which, to note, these caves are chock full of. And Ice Shields protect well against freezing jets, but also make water turn into ice underfoot for a bit, and prevents them from slipping on the ice. All these shields last until they get hurt or earn a new shield.

With all of this knowledge, finding the 3 Elemental Jewels should be a snap.

*Upon finding the Fire Elemental Jewel.*

Sonic: “Phew, it sure radiates heat doesn't it? It’s like a sauna in here.”

Tails: “Yeah, let’s not stay too long.”

*Upon finding the Electric Elemental Jewel.*

Sonic: “I can feel the power coursing through my body kinda like my super form. But I bet we’d get shocked if we got any closer.”

Tails: “Mhm, power’s nearly off the charts! I even look like a furball!”

Sonic: “The cutest furball, buddy. Heh he.”

*Upon finding the Ice Elemental Jewel.*

Sonic shivers: “G-g-geez, it’s like Holoska in here! AH-CHOO!”

Tails: “It-it-it’s noted. Let’s get away before we f-f-f-freeze.”

*Once they found them all.*

Sonic: “That seems to be everything, and we got a clear path for future visits. Are we well prepared, buddy?”

Tails: “Yep, just gotta bring these back to Bentley.”

Sonic: “Then let’s blast back with SONIC SPEED!”

Tails: “... Really, buddy? That lame catchphrase?”

Sonic: “Heh, I like saying it once in a while.”

Tails giggles: “Okay then, dork.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Tails and Sonic high five in victory.*

\-----

**Statue of Oppression**

  * Sneak through the base.
  * Discover El Jefe’s plans.



Sly and Bentley leave the safe house and make their way to the entrance of El Jefe’s base, greeted by two Kappa-Kappa-Phis’ they easily defeat before entering the main lobby of the base.

The inside of the base is quite in stark contrast to the golden look it has outside. The walls are lined with stones of vibrant colors that form various patterns that match Cuban architecture. And in nearly every room is artwork that seems to have come from Sonic’s version of Cuba and Japan. Also spread around are plenty of Japanese items, mostly of swords and pottery.

Sly: “Hmm, El Jefe sure has made his mark in here. Even smells strongly of Cuban cigars.”

Bentley: “Yeah, but we got to focus, Sly. You know El Jefe is looking to exploit ways to stop us.”

Sly: “I know. So let’s go.”

El Jefe’s security features are nothing to laugh at, since he has the latest and greatest of systems. Lasers are the main course of danger, and not just in the regular formations seen in Sly Cooper. Yes, they can be used to cover the room and require jumping over the sweepers, but in other rooms, some laser swing even more wildly and unpredictably. And in a few key rooms nearer to the top, the lasers actually follow shortly behind Sly and Bentley, requiring constant movement or becoming the next fried item for El Jefe’s menu. The other dangers come from the security cameras placed in some of the hallways and rooms as well, bringing back the third person perspective from afar again. The duo will have to be quick on their feet in these rooms too or get turned into swiss cheese.

Now, the reason Bentley has been tagging along is because a few rooms/halls of the base have way too many lasers blocking any access, or the cameras guard a guard filled room, so they have to detour to find some computer terminals and hack them to shut off the grids or use the cameras to their advantage. These hacking areas are a tiny bit shorter than the mountain ones but they are filled with a few more enemies and defenses of their own. And in design, it looks similar to the walls of the actual base, but there are clear signs of Eggman’s insignia labeling who truly owns these computers beyond. In the case of hacking a camera, the table turns as Bentley can use it like his Grapple-Cam, but it can fire bullets with the **X button** until it overheats from too much use, as noted by the red bar. Once it cools down, bullets can be fired again; of course, limited fire bursts to prevent overheating.

After plenty of fighting and hacking and careful dodging, the duo reach the head of El Jefe’s statue.

Sly: “Hmm… I’m pretty sure heading into our adversary’s den is a death sentence, but we need to find out what he’s planning.”

Bentley: “Schematics show we could enter from the nose, but it’s a dangerous game of balance atop the head and I don’t think my wheelchair can handle that.”

Sly: “It’s okay, I can do it, Bentley.”

Bentley: “You sure? It’s a long way down.”

Sly: “You know I’ve done much worse. Just watch from here in case El Jefe does something.”

Bentley: “Okay, I’ll wait then. Be careful, buddy.”

Sly: “I will.”

With a little climb up a nearby ladder, we find ourselves on top of the statue we were climbing all this time, and from here, the sky is still a pale pink/orange. Dotted along the whole head are antennas, lightning rods, smokestacks to vent out the heavy cigar smoke, insulated power lines spanning around along with wires, and some random hooks here and there, meant to keep the cleaners from ‘falling’ off to their doom. [Well, if they actually cared for the safety of their workers anyway.] It’s the perfect obstacle course for a master thief but also a one way trip to death so DON’T FALL OFF! Our finish spot is landing right in El Jefe’s nose, so we can sneak into his office from a loose tile in the ceiling with the graceful elegance of a raccoon.

*El Jefe sits on the balcony of his statue’s mouth in a beach chair, looking up at the stars. A song with plenty of acoustic guitars is playing on the radio on the table nearby, flowing out a Latin tune. He hums along to it before saying.*

El Jefe: “Mmm, I have to admit that these people sure do have a good Latin selection, even if they don’t call it that. Gotta remember to maybe conquer them next.”

SInce El Jefe is distracted, now is the perfect time to sneak over to his desk and get a picture of what looks to be plans for stealing the Elemental Jewels for Eggman, but before we can gloss more from it, El Jefe’s computer chimes saying that someone was calling them.

*Sly wastes no time hurrying underneath the desk as El Jefe quickly got up, shut off the music and went to his desk and turned on the computer, revealing the evil face of Dr. Eggman.*

Eggman: “EL JEFE?! What the hell are you doing, lounging around like the common housecat? I’m not paying to do jack squat!”

El Jefe, who would normally cower to someone who’s more of a cold-blooded killer than he is,  speaks with an air of smugness: “Relax, Eggy, things are going according to plan. Soon, this tiger will strike with the utmost fierceness that no one shall suspect.”

Eggman’s mustache droops: “Oh, jeez. The Cyan Emerald makes someone even more of an insufferable jerk. Only I am supposed to be that way!”

El Jefe pulls out a cigar and lights it: “Senor Eggman, relax. You were going to call me to warn me the Cooper Gang and Sonic’s ragtag team are inbound, si?”

Eggman: “Yes, I was. How did you know?”

El Jefe does a few puffs on his cigar and blows smoke: “I got my ways, mostly from our minions and such.”

Eggman: “Well? Are you going to do anything about them?!”

El Jefe puffs out some more smoke: “Soon, mi compadre. This tiger is in the crouch before the pounce, just waiting for the perfect chance to sink my claws and teeth into the gang’s flesh!”

Eggman: “... Whatever that means. Just hurry it up and get those Elemental Jewels. And don’t think of coming back without the thorns in my side.”

El Jefe: “I won’t let you down, Doctor! El Jefe, out.”

*He leans back in his chair and smokes his cigar to his content, but now, Sly is stuck under the desk.*

Thankfully, Bentley was peeking into the room and saw the scene, so now we have to figure out how to help Sly escape. Attacking El Jefe is a definite no, but one might notice there are plenty of fixtures and things that can move about. Bentley’s darts are perfect to use on them to make them turn on or spin or just work. We can only take so many shots before El Jefe figures out who’s shooting the darts, but don’t worry as our goal is getting to him to his turned-on radio, making him get lost in the Latin music. And when he hears it, he starts singing in Spanish and looking back out over his statue. This gives Sly the chance to escape, right after hitting the elevator button and allowing our heroes to escape with little worry. Once outside, the mission ends.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sly and Bentley act like dorks and do a little robot dancing before hi-fiving.*

\-----

**Going Crystal Crazy**

  * Gather the materials for making the bombs.



Carmelita and Knuckles leave the safe house and actually head into the woods in front of them to a marked waypoint.

Knuckles: “Why are we out here in the middle of the woods?”

Carmelita: “Because this wood is thick enough to house the materials so it doesn’t explode too early in our hands. Think you can punch them apart?”

Knuckles: “Heh, easy peasy. Stand back, as I work these fists’ might!”

After the excitement of the past missions, it’s time for things to get a bit more simple. The goal is simple; knock down trees and collect 40 pieces of wood in 5 minutes. The trees aren’t hard to topple, falling after 3 punches or if they domino onto each other. And don’t worry, these trees were in threat of falling anyways as one can notice they are weaker and rotted in the roots. It shouldn’t be too hard to gather up all the necessary pieces.

Knuckles: “Done! What next?”

Carmelita: “We’re going north, past the mountain ranges, I think we can find something useful there.”

It’s a fairly easy trek around the mountain range, only hindered by checkpoints made by the Kappa bots, but those can be easily wiped out. Our waypoint leads us to an empty field.

Carmelita: “Here, according to what Bentley’s scanners got underground.”

Knuckles: “I can figure I am digging here, but what for?”

Carmelita: “You’re digging for more of those mini-crystals that the villagers have in the shrine. If one can offer the powers done to Sly when he broke off a piece, imagine what many of them can do together, along with a catalyst.”

Knuckles: “Um… a big explosion?”

Carmelita nods: “Yep, enough to certainly blow holes in that statue, and if we have enough, knock it all down.”

Knuckles: “Gotcha! Digging away!”

It’s been a while since Knuckles has done some digging, but it isn’t that hard to do. In fact, it’s just as simple as pressing the  **O button** on the dirt to dig away. But of course, digging willy-nilly isn’t going to see results. No, that’s where the vibration from the controller comes in [Or an exclamation point that appears close to the perfect digging spot if the vibration is turned off]; the stronger the vibration, the more likely a crystal is below. There’s no penalty for digging in the wrong spot, and no time limit, but there is the annoying badnik or guard trying to slip Knuckles and Carmelita up, but they are easily disposed. This part of the mission ends once 40 crystals of each kind are found.

Carmelita: “Sweet.”

Knuckles: “Now what?”

Carmelita: “Well, they already have TNTs scattered everywhere, I’m gonna score us some to use as a catalyst for extra firepower and to ensure they blow up.”

Knuckles: “Is that it?”

Carmelita: “Hmm, oh! And one more thing, some rope to burn and make sure all the charges blow up. Probably could steal some of that at the same time.”

Returning back to the main area, our job shifts to Carmelita as her more delicate finesse is in line for grabbing up the TNT and ropes weaved around. Whereas Sly uses his cane as his action move, Carmelita goes down and dirty and uses her hands to snatch up the TNT with the  **O button** . And when near the ropes, pressing the  **O button** makes her grab on the rope and tug it off, and more presses will pull off more rope that are attached in a line. Our goal is to raid the 10 baskets of TNT and stealing 40 pieces of rope to finally end this mission.

Carmelita: “There we go, that’s everything we need. Now I just gotta put it all together safely and we’ll be set.”

Knuckles: “Perfect! That was fun.”

Carmelita: “Indeed it was, Knuckles. Fist bump?”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Knuckles and Carmelita do a fist-bump then blow it up as their victory pose.*

\-----

**Operation Intermission**

*The first slide is of Carmelita and the gang working in the nearby shed, making the bombs. It then changes to blueprints of the base of the statue, which then blows up with red flames and the top of the statue topples over down the mountain.*

Bentley: “We’re almost ready with the explosives needed to end El Jefe’s reign before it begins. Once we finish, Carmelita and I are going to set them up along the inside base of the tower and when it’s all set up, KABOOM! It’s going to be broken on the ground and not be an oppression symbol anymore.”

*Sonic suddenly interrupts by bringing pictures of the swords and art in the base.*

Sonic: “I hate to be the one to derail that plan, but could you perhaps ‘steal’ the art and weapons that are in the base beforehand? G.U.N. just informed us that some of that stuff you saw was stolen by Eggman and should be saved if possible.”

Bentley: “Oh? Well, I guess we could have Sly also snatching them up at the same time. I think our game-plan will be unaffected.”

Sonic: “Thanks. We really do appreciate it.”

*The slide changes to the mines, and then to the blueprints from El Jefe’s desk.*

Bentley: “Of course. Now, once all that’s done, we’re off into the mines to make sure the Elemental Jewels are secured and safe. After hearing El Jefe’s thoughts and seeing the blueprints, something is worrying me in the pit of my stomach. El Jefe sounded way too confident, and I’m worried we might actually lose.”

Sonic: “Don’t you worry your head, Bentley. You got us if it needs to boil down to it.”

Bentley: “I know. Well, let’s hurry up and finish then.”


	17. Episode 4: The Shogun's Pride: Operation Bad Kitty! to Conclusion

**Operation: Bad Kitty!**

  * ‘Steal’ back the art and items.
  * Blow up the base.
  * Hurry to the Elemental Jewels.



Heading out a bit ahead of the team, Sly makes his way over to El Jefe’s statue on a mission to steal artwork back. Night has fallen proper over the valley, and the stars are out and starting to twinkle in the sky. It would be pretty nice… if it weren’t for El Jefe’s ugly mug ruining the scenery. But don’t worry, that will be remedied shortly. But first, we are to enter the base again.

Sly: “I got a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it… heh, the usual style. Though, I can only carry up to 3 objects at a time. I better make the best use of my Cooper skills to get this done.”

There are about 15 items that Sly has to pick up among the 3 lower floors, which means at least it’s going to take 5 trips back to the front door. But remember that loot gets destroyed if Sly suffers an attack, which fails the mission instantly.

Sly, upon failing: “Damn it, failed at the Cooper finesse.”

And also know that this has to be done in less than 10 minutes. But don’t worry, as it is plenty of time to handle most any amount of trips. Just be sure to avoid or defeat the guards to make the job a bit easier. When the last artwork is taken outside, the mission moves on.

Sly greets Bentley and Carmelita: “Got the treasure, guys.”

Bentley: “Nice job, buddy!”

Carmelita: “Have to admit that was fancy footwork, Cooper. I knew your skills have a good use in good.”

Sly chuckles: “Well, you know I always aim to please. And you’re right, this was fun to do a good thing. So you both are going to wire up the place?”

Bentley: “Yep, and gotta be real careful doing it. One hit and we’re all going to be blown sky high.”

Sly: “Yeah, I wouldn’t want my best friend and the love of my life burnt to ash. Be careful you two.”

Once again, control goes to Carmelita as she’s got the hands needed to properly set up the 40 crystal explosives at transparent markers, and pressing the  **O button** at those areas to place them. After placing a few, we realize that we actually can’t stray very far or we won’t have enough rope to set them all. Just remember that each new marker point is right nearby to the one before it and goes around the entire building. There is no time limit for placing them all, mostly because our efforts should be more focused on protecting ourselves from guards with Carmelita’s shock pistol and dragging Bentley around. While he isn’t a slow roller, Carmelita can’t go too far ahead without the turtle possibly dropping a bomb, so she’ll be pulled back if she goes past the length. It can possibly be said that this is the proper difficulty for the halfway point of this game/fic.

Carmelita, upon placing the final explosive: “That’s the last one. Time to blow this popsicle stand.”

Just make a bolt to the door, and as they leave, Carmelita shoots a shock bolt at the rope and it lights and runs down the rope to the first explosive.

*As they make it to safety, we zoom out and watch the explosives go off with a big bang and gouge out a large hole in the base walls. Since it became unstable, the body of El Jefe slowly leans sideways until it cracks off and slides down the mountainside with a thud into an empty ravine.*

Bentley: “Yeah! El Jefe’s base is no more!”

Carmelita thinks for a moment: “Do you think… El Jefe was still in there? Not that I don’t think he deserves punishment, but that’s kinda harsh…”

Bentley: “If he was there, he escaped. It’s what happened last time in Ancient Japan. But personally, I don’t think he was in there at all. We gotta hurry back and get regrouped.”

*We fade to black, then return at the entrance of one of the mines, where everyone has gathered together.*

Bentley: “Alright everyone, the statue is destroyed, but there has been no sighting of El Jefe. Knowing our enemy, El Jefe might have made a run for the Elemental Jewels, so we should make sure they are not under his use.”

Sly: “I’m worried too actually… if his katanas and his general powers were of Fire and Electricity… could being near those Elemental Jewels increase those powers multiple times over?”

Sonic: “Heh, don’t worry, we got this.”

Bentley: “I hope so…”

The group of 7, led on by the playable Sonic, make their way over to the Fire, Electric, and Ice Elemental Jewels, but when they get to each, they don’t give anyone shields and look somewhat drained with their duller colors.

Bentley: “Th-they’re drained! All of them!”

Sly: “No… then that means…”

Tails: “Sorry to interrupt guys, but the Cyan Emerald has finally appeared in the central area of these caves.”

Murray: “Then that means?”

Sly: “He’s ambushing us. He must be feeling real confident, but why? He was never like this before.”

Sonic: “Hmm… I wonder if it gave him a surge of confidence?”

Tails: “It could be possible. Emotions have to be flowing in the Emerald’s power as well.”

Sly: “Tch… this is one battle I’m not feeling confident being in…”

We hurry are way over to the expansive central cave...

\-----

**Boss: El Jefe**

  * Defeat El Jefe.



...Where El Jefe stands, waiting for us. 

*His fur is standing up, coursing with energy of fire, electricity and ice. At present, it looked to be as close to a super form that could be made without the Chaos Emeralds, but it most likely was helped by the Cyan Emerald in his pocket. He is smoking his cigar as casual as can be.*

El Jefe: “So the steel-cajoned raccoon finally shows his face to me. Though, by the looks of it, it seems the fire has been extinguished before you even got here. Scared, thief?”

Sly’s voice falters him: “N-no. I can still beat you, you… big baby.”

El Jefe laughs: “Hah! Just hearing the nervousness in your breath is enough to tell me you are dead inside, scared at my newfound power! Imagine that, the mighty Cooper, now a shivering waste.”

Carmelita steps in: “Hey! Don’t you dare make fun of my ringtail! He’s mine!”

El Jefe: “And what are you going to do with that SHOCK Pistol of yours, miss? I’m protected from your electricity too, and I’ll as soon as shock you right back if you even get close. You’ve heard of my dangerous record, do you, any of you, think you can even deal with me?!”

*Even Carmelita had to shut up for that. Murray, Knuckles, Bentley and Tails looked at each other hesitantly, knowing they were either too slow or had to attack in close range where they would get hurt by his barrier shields and katanas. The only one not scared and who made a step forward was Sonic, giving a smirk.*

Sonic: “I’ll take you up on that challenge, heh.”

El Jefe: “Hmph, that Sonic fella Eggy told me about, is it? You think you’re so smug, dont’cha?”

Sonic: “Yeah, because I KNOW I got the power to back it up. Can you say the same, ya overgrown kitten?”

El Jefe: “Would a regular kitten be bristling with elemental powers AND have the Cyan Emerald?” *He pulls it out, and it glows with power before he replaces it* “Even you have to be scared of that.”

Sonic: “Then you don’t know me very well. I’m stubborn, and always find a way to deal with cocky fools like you.”

El Jefe: “In that case, then let’s battle, you pincushion! If I’m able to beat you, I can beat anyone!”

*He roars, and the cavern starts to shake as his barriers around him rise in power, supercharging the area with the elemental energies blasting everywhere.*

Sonic: “Go guys, I got this, get outside.”

Sly: “But Sonic-”

Sonic: “Go! This guy is nothing compared to what I do.”

Tails: “Come on, guys, we can trust Sonic, let’s get out before the cavern falls on us.”

*They hurry and file out the cave as we take control of Sonic in front of the angry El Jefe.*

**BOSS: El Jefe**

El Jefe’s finally getting the proper boss battle he was deserved since this time, he isn’t running away. He stays in the middle of the arena, protected by Fire, Electric, and Ice Shields. On the offense, El Jefe go-to attack is to draw up one of the 3 elements into his katanas then swing his swords about, firing out 3 fireballs in front of him, spinning around with a long electric reach like in Sly 4, or freezing up the ground brought up by 3 hi-shotted ice crystals. All of those require quick movements of Sonic to dodge. After that, El Jefe follows up with slamming into the ground with his katanas with enough power to stun Sonic, and make rocks rain for 10 seconds, but also creates an elemental shockwave in its wake, either lighting the ground on fire, or freezing it with ice, or leaving a shocking aftertrail.

To even get a chance of attacking El Jefe, Sonic must use one of the falling rocks by homing attacking it into El Jefe to cut off his shields for the next couple attacks. El Jefe is left swinging the katanas normally and then following with a weaker slam attack, which hurt if Sonic makes contact with them. Any attack works when he’s not charged up, but he’ll continue attacking no matter what so staying close is out of the question. The next time he starts anew, he reignites his elemental powers again, requiring another rock to get rid of it. 

Around the halfway point, El Jefe sucks upon his cigar hard before blowing out a huge cloud of smoke over the arena. This doesn’t hurt Sonic, but it will make seeing what attacks El Jefe does harder to see other than their glows until the smoke blows away 30 seconds later. This pattern continues, going a bit faster and harder near the end until El Jefe is defeated soundly.

El Jefe angrily jumps: “GAH!!! No, no, NO!!! I WAS SUPPOSED TO WIN!!! I was promised so!”

Sonic: “Geez, maybe Sly was right. You are a big baby.”

El Jefe: “Baby?! I’m not a baby! I’M THE BOSS, DAMN IT!”

Sonic rubs his nose and smirks: “Then why are you throwing a temper tantrum like a baby?”

El Jefe: “BECAUSE I’M ANGRY, DAMN IT!”

*El Jefe starts jumping hard enough to shake the cave and drop larger stalactites.*

Sonic: “W-whoa there! You’re gonna kill us!”

El Jefe: “THEN I HAVE COMPLETED MY JOB AS SATISFIED!”

*He continues jumping, and holes appear showing the sky above.*

Sonic: “Uh-oh, better make an exit.”

*He speeds to El Jefe and steals the Emerald out of his pocket before running off, leaving El Jefe to be crushed by rocks. Meanwhile, Sonic avoids his own crushing by being whisked away in a cyan bolt of light, going into the Emerald’s world.*

\-----

**The** **Cyan Emerald’s** **Smugness**

  * Get the Cyan Emerald.



*With a cyan flash, Sonic is dumped out right in his worst nightmare, stuck in a sealed Aquarium Park with no visible way to the surface to breathe air. Sonic’s eyes bulge in fear as he holds his breath and starts swimming, as a voice enters his head, one that angers him.*

Paper Eggman: “Welcome, Sonic, to my new Interstellar Amusement Park. YOU are the main attraction of my Good Taste Aquarium. You can swim around all you want, but you won’t find an exit. Enjoy the ride! Bwah hah ha!”

Sonic, thinking: “Okay, gotta stay cool, hedgie… how the heck am I going to get out of here?”

Tails’ voice: “S-Sonic! What are you doing in there? You gotta get out!”

Sonic’s mind: “T-Tails? W-where are you?”

Tails’ voice: “Buddy! Hang on! Hold onto me! I’ll get you out!”

Sonic’s mind: “Alright, lead the way, buddy.”

Panel #1: The Spin Cycle

We got our work cut out for us, since we’re stuck in these panels representing underwater areas in Aquarium Park. In this one, there are plenty of spinning fans creating currents that toss us to and fro everywhere. With each of these challenges, we can make it through to the next panel, but Sonic is very likely to drown before that happens, and we all know how much people are scared of the drowning theme. So, that means we gotta rely on the Paper Tails that will swim us through the currents without blowing us away, while also giving us more air to breathe. Once on the right side, we can leave to the next panel.

Panel #2: A Cavern Runs Through It

Silver’s voice: “Oh? Sonic! What are you doing going through this Aquarium! You might drown and mess up the future!”

Sonic’s mind: “I know that, Silver, it’s not like I’d WANT to be in my worst fears! Help me out here!”

Silver: “Oh, yeah! I’ll help you with my psychokinesis!”

As Sonic makes his way through these caverns, there looks to be places where there are open air spots that Sonic can breathe in, but it’s all a trick as Sonic has to break rocks to enter those caverns and the water quickly displaces away the air. Added on in frustration is the fans continuing to blow Sonic around all over the place. Silver’s power can ease things by moving rocks to stop the currents and safely open those air pockets so Sonic can breathe easy in this long, snaking way to the next panel.

Panel #3: Playing With Sharks

Amy’s Voice: “Oh! Sonic! What are you doing in here? You’re going to drown!”

Sonic’s Mind: “I know that, Amy. I’m trying to get out of here.”

Amy’s Voice: “Well, let me help out! My trusty hammer can bring more help than you think.”

*By this time, the boss ship from Sonic’s fight with Admiral Jelly comes flying in and parks at the bottom of the scene.*

Paper Eggman, now showing on CCTVs in the area: “Well, you’ve managed to survive this far, but my S.H.A.R.K will make sure you drown now! Bwah hah ha!”

Sonic’s mind: “Looks like I don’t have a choice.”

Sonic has to survive the missiles and guns being fired from the ship and flip its switch to crash it into the ground. The switch however is guarded by a glass shield that Sonic can’t break on his own. Sonic could lead a couple of missiles to break it open all by himself, but if he gets Amy’s help, she can give those missiles a helpful smack and send them right into the glass from any place. The ship will crash down into the ground and give us access into the large ship.

Panel #4: A Captain Goes Down with His Loot

Rouge’s voice: “Mmm, now what are you doing in a place like this, hero?”

Sonic’s mind: “Clearly not enjoying the scenery. I’m stuck in here.”

Rouge’s voice: “Well, allow me to help you out, Sonic. I can find you a way out.”

Sonic is stuck in the captain’s room, and needs to work his way into the lower room that has the treasures. There is a trap door that separates the two rooms, but to open it, it requires either spinning the ship’s wheel a certain number of times to open it, or going into the treasure room, grabbing a jewel and placing it on the desk to open it remotely. Using the wheel is going to drown Sonic before it even opens, so relying on Rouge to fly into the vent to get the jewel is the way to go. Once the trap door opens, Sonic can head into the treasure room and head on to the next room.

Panel #5: Worthless Consumer Models

*Sonic is met by a vast number of Paper Samurai Pawns at the ready to kill him*

Sonic’s mind: “Whoa! That’s a lot! I can’t defeat them all before I drown!”

Omega’s voice: “IS THE BLUE HEDGEHOG IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE?”

Sonic’s mind: “Well, I would normally be able to handle this, but I’m in danger of drowning.”

Omega’s voice: “THE BLUE HERO DROWNING, HOW WEAK THAT WOULD BE. I SHALL ASSIST THEN.”

Sonic’s mind: “Thanks… I think.”

It’s an easier long hall, full of badniks, but they prevent much room to go around and touching them can hurt Sonic and lead him to drown. With Omega’s help, he can feed Sonic air bubbles and plow through the long lines of badniks, so Sonic can move on to the next panel.

Panel #6: Dig Dug Out

Knuckles’ voice: “Well, Sonic, you swimming around on your lonesome?”

Sonic’s mind: “Very funny, Knucklehead. Can you please help me get out of here?”

Knuckles’ voice: “Of course, and then you’ll leave me alone.”

Sonic’s mind: “Fine.”

If Sonic went by himself, he would have to go through so many twisting tunnels that he would drown before making it to the end. But with Knuckles, he’ll break apart the blocks and rocks in the way with ease and bring out air bubbles for him to breathe. Once at the bottom, there’s just one panel left.

Panel #7: Fighting With the Enemy

Shadow’s voice: “Long time, no see, faker. Enjoying a deep dive?”

Sonic’s mind: “Hah ha, very funny. Now will you help me out of here before I drown?”

Shadow’s voice: “And why should I?”

Sonic’s mind: “It’d be pretty annoying to have your best rival die a stupid death and not by your hand, wouldn’t it?”

Shadow’s voice: “... Fine. Let’s finish that Admiral Jelly.”

**BOSS: PAPER ADMIRAL JELLY**

Sonic and Shadow have their work cut out from them, having to fight Admiral Jelly with his crazy speed and drill attacks. It doesn’t need to be said that Sonic will not have enough time to defeat the robot with his dwindling air supply. But, with Shadow’s Chaos Control [using our elusive Cyan Emerald, HEY!!], they can pause the robot to land a hit on its underside. As they continue fighting, Admiral Jelly will include small crewmate to protect himself, but they go down with one hit but can take up valuable time to hit the robot. But, with perseverance, he is defeated like the rest. 

Shadow’s voice: “Well, not bad, Sonic. You showed that you’re not too sure-minded to not trust your closest friends to help.”

Sonic’s mind: “Now why would I be that cocky? I know that you guys all have abilities to offer that I don’t have and can use. And I like your guys’ help.”

Shadow’s voice: “Hmph, chokingly helpful as ever.”

Sonic’s mind: “Okay, edgey, can I please have the Cyan Emerald now before I drown?”

*Sonic is handed the Cyan Emerald to finish the job.*

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sonic does an underwater breakdance with the Cyan Emerald then gets zapped back to the real world.*

\-----

**Conclusion** :

*The whole gang is shown standing around the newly made pit caused by El Jefe’s temper tantrum, when a cyan bolt hits behind them and reveals Sonic with the emerald, dripping water from where he was.*

Sly, narrating: “We got worried when no one was answering from the pit, thinking that Sonic was crushed under all that rubble. Thankfully, we were proven wrong when a bolt from the blue hit behind us and Sonic’s familiar face revealed himself… soaking wet for some reason.”

*El Jefe soon comes out from the rubble, dazed until he finally collapses from exhaustion. G.U.N. is quick to arrive and throw El Jefe into the truck.*

Sly, narrating: “But we didn’t have time to worry about that, because El Jefe seemed to survive the collapse too, only long enough to escape the rubble before being knocked out. Since we had already called G.U.N., he was quickly taken into custody for now.”

*A giant Hey Ho flies in from the nighttime sky and starts hacking away at a big tree in the forest and knocks it down in record time. Everyone notices and boards the Tornado to follow the Hey Ho to a possible Eggman connection.*

Sly, narrating: “Around this time, a giant lumberjack robot flies overhead and pulls out an axe and starts hacking down a big tree in the nearby woods. Sonic was quick to point out this was probably meant to garner our attention.”

Sonic: “Heh he, looks like ol’ Eggy is rolling out the welcome wagon to his next base. Let’s follow that robot. It’ll probably lead us to the next Emerald.”

Sly, narrating: “We were quick to board the Tornado and follow the giant robot wherever it may lead us…”


	18. Episode 5: Paradise Lost: Introduction through First Intermission

**Introduction** :

*The Tornado is shown flying in the night sky, following the Hey Ho to a terrarium located out in the middle of nowhere in the desert. Though, with all the spotlights and signage, it clearly belongs to Eggman.*

Sly, narrating: “The giant robot took a long time getting to wherever it was heading, and we nearly decided to stop following it when we finally spotted its final destination. It was a humongous dome located in a desert that seemed to stretch for miles around with no civilization. Signs saying ‘Eggman’s Private Terrarium’ and ‘Do Not Enter and Be Shot’ cemented this was Eggman’s doing.”

*The whole gang disembarks from the plane and enter the front entrance of the dome, which seals up behind them.*

Sly, narrating: “Once we found a safe place to land, we went right on in and the door sealed behind us, meaning we were stuck with whoever was here and to whatever was in there.”

*The scenery of plenty of trees, plants and grass is shown, mostly looking like Angel Island in a dome with metal scaffolding scattered in between watering plants and trees and holding the whole place up.*

Sly, narrating: “From what we could tell, the place looked to be a terrarium, housing the world’s plants, trees and other foliage and greenery in one place, most likely stolen by Eggman for his own gain. The place at least looked advanced enough to house its own watering system and other things necessary to build your own slice of paradise.”

*Metal Sonic’s face is shown on a nearby screen, laughing at their entrapment. He seemed to be located somewhere in hiding and showed that he was in total control of the weather inside. He twirls the Blue Emerald on his hand, taunting them to come find him.*

Sly, narrating: “From one of the nearby computers, a robot laughed at us about sealing us in, and we noticed it looked like Sonic.”

Sonic: “Well, looks like Metal Sonic is our captor.”

Metal Sonic: “THAT’S RIGHT, MY LOATHSOME COPY. YOU’RE STUCK WITH ME, AND YOU’LL NEVER FIND ME.”

Sonic: “Don’t worry, we will, and beat you to get us out of here.”

Metal Sonic: “WILL YOU NOW? WHEN I CAN DO THIS!”

*The weather, which was a balmy summer, quickly grew cold and snow started falling like winter suddenly took in.*

Metal Sonic: “I CONTROL EVERYTHING THAT GOES ON IN THIS TERRARIUM, AND THAT INCLUDES THE WEATHER. YOU WON’T LAST. AND I HAVE THIS TOO.” *He shows the Blue Emerald.”

Sonic: “You just hang tight, irksome machine. We’ll battle real soon.”

Metal Sonic: “I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT… IF YOU EVEN SURVIVE, COPY!!”

Sly, narrating: “It was quite a scary-looking robot. I wonder if we even have a chance with what looks to be a homicidal maniac?”

Sly Cooper, his Gang, and Team Sonic in:

*A certain part of the terrarium is shown, where trees, rocks, plants and other things form the word Paradise, but the weather quickly changes and everything soon alights in fire and reveals the true title card ‘ **Paradise Lost** ’.*

\-----

**Hub Layout** : Since winter has set in for now and they don’t want to get frostbite, they have found a cave in the terrarium to make a safehouse in, which is quite high-tech and filled with electrical panels and soft lighting. As noted earlier, computer screens are integrated into most of the scaffolding structure that runs everywhere, noting our position in the dome and the current weather. Humidifiers and heat/cold transfer machines help form different and sustainable biomes for the plants, but Metal Sonic has turned them for evil to kill us! Although the windows outside still point to it being nighttime, inside the dome it is bright as though it were midday.

The gang’s cave is to the far east of the terrarium, near the entrance/exit. Before Metal Sonic had messed with the weather, the climates had matched the topography of the place, which had high mountains and hills to the north and east and low beaches and water to the south and west, with varying highs and lows in between. Around their safehouse is evergreen trees and log cabins that feel like home sweet evil home. Near the beach are plenty of docks and ships with cannons at the ready to fire at any enemy. Around the mountains are the cave system that leads underground, but they are well defended. At the center of the dome is a tall techno-filled tower that sends the power out and controls every single machine in the area.

Enemies:

  * **Macaw** : Metal Sonic ‘employed’ these colorful birds to fly around to discourage the heroes from the air. Most of the time, they stand on branches in the trees and listen for the sound of prey to walk by to come out. If they’re flying in the air, stay away from their shadow, or coconuts will rain on a thief's parade. Otherwise, when walking around, they slap any fool silly with their wings which hurt more than they look. They carry or drop 8-10 rings and are likely to have small sized treasures.
  * **Boxing Beetle** : Anthro Goliath Beetles that are quite bigger than expected. They scuttle around high and low searching for enemies that Metal Sonic directed them to so hiding is very hard. With their hard carapace, only attacks from the front can hurt them if it’s not Knuckles or Murray fighting them. As their name implies, they use their 8 appendages to aggressively punch out the lights of their foes but they aren’t too fast and can be dodged. They carry or drop 9-11 rings and are likely to give medium sized treasures.
  * **Spider Monkey** : Possibly the contender for smallest flashlight guard. With their long tails, they can easily swing along trees silently and catch any of the heroes by surprise, and can disappear just as fast. They’re also weaker guards, but are much more likely to dodge attacks with their agility. Some long range attack or just being smarter will take them down swiftly. They carry or drop 10-12 rings and are likely to give large-sized treasures.
  * **Bloominihalator** : Repurposed Bloominators that have vine-like legs so they can go around anywhere. They can attack with the usual spike balls tossed out from their tops but on occasion, especially with slower characters, they can tilt their metallic tulip heads up to a 90 degree angle and fire them from that direction like a cannonball. Worth 10 rings when smashed.
  * **Coconuts** : It wouldn’t be a tropical zone if a Coconut variant didn’t show up somehow. They’re the standard fair of badnik, tossing coconuts that surprisingly only stun someone. The real kicker comes from the bomb they throw after to finish the deal, and they got quite a good blast radius. Drops 10 rings when smashed.
  * **Cluckster** : The old Cluckoid that used to just blow us around got a coat of green paint and more dangerous. On any occasion, they can rotate around fast like a jet engine and produce a twister of wind that can catch us and carry us elsewhere, usually into something dangerous and/or painful. Also be careful that it can pick up the bombs and stuff along the ground and blow it up in our capture. Drops 11 rings when smashed.
  * **Toucannon** : Dr. Eggman’s evil twist on these tropical birds of paradise. The only way one could make a toucan better was to make it fire cannonballs from its mouth to shoot adversaries. These too like to stay in the trees and fire down on unsuspecting hedgehog and related irks. Drops 11 rings when smashed.
  * **Environmister** : Coming back from Lava Reef is the killer Toximister, but with a different get up with that bark-like metal. Besides their poison mist, which needs to be shaken off by any means or destroying the badnik, they also produce rain clouds. However, the rain clouds will start to thunder when they close in on us and fire a lightning bolt over our head to hurt us, unless we got a lightning shield. Drops 12 rings when smashed.
  * **Big Mosqui** : Eggman took one look at these bloodsuckers and thought ‘How can I one up one of nature’s most irksome insects for my bidding?’. The result is the Mosqui, but here, they are much bigger in size, as they are larger than Murray. And while past ones dive-bombed and got their noses stuck in the ground, these one are able to prevent that and keep on spiking the heroes and following them around. At least a good enough swat will eliminate these ringsuckers. Worth 12 rings when smash, more rings come out if they happen to have stolen a few with their noses.



Treasures:

From Guards:

  * _Small Sapphire_ : Worth 50 rings.
  * _Medium Sapphire_ : Worth 55 rings.
  * _Large Sapphire_ : Worth 60 rings.



On Pedestals:

  * _Dr. Eggman’s Egg-Mobile Keys_ : Hey, who left these just lying around? Aw well, bet he won’t mind if we took them. [And by that, I mean he’ll be angry.]. Found in the evergreen trees to the north. Worth 80 rings.
  * _Mysterious Seed_ : Whatever plant or tree this came from, it is at least 4X larger than a walnut. Although it doesn’t look spectacular, it feels as though magic is flowing within. Found in the tropical forests to the south. Worth 130 rings but will capture whoever carries it in a vine trap that they need to break out of if they get hit holding the seed.
  * _Metallic Heart_ : A small, metal-formed heart that seems to beat with no owner. Perhaps it belongs to one of Eggman’s more precious badniks like Metal Sonic? Found near one of the caves underground to the northwest. Worth 180 rings.



~~Jobs~~

**Chilly Reception**

  * Get pictures of the cabins.
  * Get a picture of the tech tower.
  * Get a picture of the gun boats.
  * Get pictures of the guidance sensors.
  * Get a picture of the caves.



Sly sneaks out of the cave and climbs up the snow-covered grassy hill it has and looks at his surroundings. The place shimmers a snowy blue and the lights turned down low to simulate the nighttime outside the dome, so the tower’s lights, monitors and other bright systems stand out more. A light snow continuously falls for now, and the snow crunches underfoot.

Sly: “What a sophisticated simulated habitat. It precipitates in here like it would from the outside world of this dome structure.”

Bentley: “Whoa, Sly’s been reading the dictionary, and made sense!”

Sly: “I had to learn something eventually from you, Bentley. Heh he. But honestly, it does look nice in here, if it weren’t for the fact of our enemies owning this and being watched by Metal Sonic.”

Tails: “Don’t worry, that’s basically the way to feel with everything Eggman makes.”

Sly: “I have to admit, none of our villains have done something this extravagant. Well, I guess I’ll see what I can photograph around here.”

Bentley: “The waypoints are out, but it seems Metal Sonic already had them shot down. They still seem to be working enough to transmit, so you better hurry.”

Recon here can be quite a bit harder than the previous times what with all the birds attacking us randomly, and Spider Monkeys commiting hit and run us as well. It might work to stand by a tree that’s not infested by a badnik, but the guards and badniks make enough noise anyway to alert their presence before they collide. Anywho, recon today consists of getting a picture of the secured cabins in the evergreen forest, the looming tech-filled tower at the center of the dome, the caves below the snowy mountain tops, and the gun boats floating in the ice-cold beach waters.

*Upon getting a picture of the cabins.*

Sly: “I remember the cabins Jean Bison owned back in our Canada… and they didn’t look half as secure as these ones do.”

Bentley: “Yeah. This is going to take some thinking on how to get in.”

*Upon getting a picture of the tower.*

Bentley: “Whoa...I’m am so speechless at all this technology. We look so primitive in comparison.”

Tails: “Well, this is normal for Eggman, and common to see in most of the developed places we go to. It usually hides under normal-looking facades to not be too glaring on anyone.”

Bentley: “Sheesh… this must be the future then. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”

Tails: “We’ll talk about that actually…”

*Upon taking a picture of the caves.*

Sly: “Hmm, as a master thief… I have to call entering this cave impossible.”

Bentley: “What? Really?”

Sly: “The traps are much too numerous and random, and conjoined even. It makes what was Kaine Island look like a cake-walk.”

Bentley: “Geez… and for you to say it’s hard…”

Sonic: “Hmm, Metal probably overdid the security. Makes sense for him though.”

*Upon taking a picture of the gun boats, Sly is quickly shot at, which we dodge.*

Sly: “H-hey! They are already firing on me! And they’re good!”

Sonic: “Move it, Sly! They got target cursors on you! Run!!!”

*Once directed down a nearby path, we run into a weird gyroscope that has a digital version of Sly above it.*

Sly, panting: “H-hey, that’s me!”

Bentley: “Hmm… it’s a gyroscope, but it seems to be tracking you, Sly.”

Tails: “It is. Eggman makes the weirdest contraptions, but they tend to work really well. It’s like a tracking device, using Sly’s biometrics to easily lock onto him.”

Sly: “Darn. I’ll get pictures of them then, because they look too strong for me to break.”

*We snag photos of the machines while avoiding long range cannon shots.*

Sly: “Phew, got them all. I’m heading back now before I get blown to bits.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sly starts his victory dance, but has to run off screen as a cannon shell nearly explodes on him.*

\-----

**Intermission 1**

*Our slideshow today starts with the caverns Sly caught on camera, which immediately gets X’d out.*

Bentley: “I’m still honestly surprised by this, but if Sly says going through this is impossible, it’s going to be off the table for now.*

*The slide changes to the cabins.*

Bentley: “So we’ll focus elsewhere for now, see what shakes. Carmelita, you’re going to be heading to the cabins. Readings underground suggest the tower is connected to the cabins, perhaps they can offer us access to the tower.”

Carmelita: “Not that I don’t mind field work, but why can’t Sly do this? Isn’t this his thing?”

Bentley: “Normally, yes. But we’ve encountered a big problem.”

*The slide changes to the gunboats and then the trackers.*

Bentley: “These gun ships have VERY advanced cannons, and as you can here- *A boom of a shell disrupts for a moment* “-their shells are firing even this far away. If Sly goes out now, he’s going to be constantly targeted and it’s going to make things much harder.”

Murray: “And I’m the one going to break those things! But I have to row a lot after I break the tracking systems. They could still hit Sly in the meantime.”

Carmelita: “Alright then. I’m sure I can get it anyways.”

Bentley: “Good, after that, well, let’s see what happens.”

Tails: “I can’t help but feel Metal Sonic is planning something, so stay on your toes, everyone.”

~~Thiefnet Upgrades~~ 

  * _Health Upgrade 2_ : 600 Rings [Description: Everyone gets 50% more health added to their defense, meaning they can take a few more hits.] 
  * _Reflex Upgrade 2_ : 600 Rings [Description: Everyone gets 50% more skill power added to their Reflex meters, meaning the skills can be used a few more times.]



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those Sonic fans who are familiar with the fan games probably notice that the terrarium sounds quite similar to Perilous Paradise Zone from Sonic, Before the Sequel. I did indeed take some inspiration from it, but I'm hoping that the changes I made and added make it sound a bit more original and interesting.


	19. Episode 5: Paradise Lost: Job 2 through Second Intermission

**Cabin Fever**

  * Gather the codes from each cabin.



With Carmelita, we make our way through the thick forests, zapping guards and badniks as we go, and approach the closest cabin in the clearing.

Carmelita: “Hmmm. cameras guard each of these so this isn’t going to be easy.”

Tails: “Maybe if you find some way to break them, or otherwise, make them unable to see you, you could break in. All I know is that those cameras probably can take a shot from your shock pistol.”

Carmelita: “Darn. Hmm, just have to use my cop skills instead.”

Getting into the cabins is not going to be easy. The problem is that the security cameras are well built and can handle most attacks done to it. If there is any chance of getting in, being creative is needed. One option is breaking their power source on the back wall of the cabins, but they take quite a few hits to break open and she’ll need to pull wires to break it. Another way is stomping on the roof right in line to where the camera is to encase it in snow and ice, rendering it useless. A third choice comes in with rolling a big enough snowball and dropping it down the smoking chimney, then following after to get in, but that will make leaving hard.

Whatever is chosen, this describes the first cabin that’s closest south.

Inside the southern cabin is quite the exact opposite of winter here. It feels more like summer with the heat. Glass bottles line around the guards, who are mostly out for now. It might be best to just avoid them. Our point of interest is the computer at the back wall. A guard will soon wake up and turn it on, and display information that Carmelita has to get a picture of. Alerting the guards won’t fail the mission, but it will lead to close quarter fighting and having to turn on the computer ourselves. With it collected, we can leave the cabin and move on to the next one.

Inside the eastern cabin are prayer circles and other meditation marks that the guards have taken up, so silence will be very key here. Inside the western cabin are TVs and computers unrelated to the mission, but they are distracting the guards. Turning off the power here would make Carmelita’s job harder. And inside the northern cabin feels very reminiscent of the cabins back in Sly 2. Maple syrup bottles line around in various ways to make a straight line walk impossible and sleeping guards take up some floor space and some of the chairs. There are beams above Carmelita can jump to to be out of their sight.

The mission ends once Carmelita gets the fourth code and leaves the cabin.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Carmelita pretends to fire a shot with her shock pistols, spins them, and then holsters them in victory.*

\-----

**Ships in a Bottle**

  * Destroy the guidance sensors.
  * Destroy all the cannons.
  * Destroy the gun boats.



Murray leaves the safety of the cave and makes his way over to the beach where the ships mysteriously stop firing.

Murray: “Um, guys? The ships stopped firing cannon shells.”

*They start turning to Murray’s location.*

Tails: “No time to talk, Murray, just get to smashing their guidance systems!”

Murray: “Right!”

With control of our pink hippo, it’s time to get to the smashing! While avoiding the shells, we use the nearby resources of broken tree limbs, barrels, and Murray’s own strength to break apart the 3 guidance sensors in the forest. They all take 9 hits to destroy. We can notice it is working when less cannon fire starts hitting Murray until they miss entirely with the last one destroyed.

Murray: “The last system’s disabled, guys! We’re not targeted anymore!”

Tails: “That’s good, but you’d better hurry onto the ships! They can still easily target the shore once they out figure what’s going on, so now is the time to strike while they switch around.”

Murray: “Alright! I’m gonna sink some ships!”

We head on over to the docks with two shakes of Murray’s rump and find ourselves boarding a small motorized boat that has a cannon attached to the front. Our goal right now is to use the cannon in the front to blast the other cannons first so we can approach the ships safely, while avoiding their cannon shells. ‘Rowing’ has been upgraded thankfully to being done by just holding the  **X Button** like a sensible person to go faster and using the  **Square Button** to slow down. Turning the boat is as easy as just tilting the **Left Analog Stick** left and right. The cannon is operated by the  **O Button** , which fires at a higher angle the longer it’s held. Each ship has 7 in total, making for 21 cannons to break. Once they are destroyed, they become sitting ducks for Murray to break. Breaking the ships is similar to what Knuckles did back in Chun-nan, but done with a powerful belly flop done from the mast of the ship. Some guards and badniks may try to fight back, but they won’t stop us from completing our mission. Once the ship is broken, Murray has to return to his boat to head to the next one. Destroying the last ship finishes the mission.

Murray: “The last ship is down the drink, oh yeah!”

Tails: “Awesome job, Murray! I see why you’re the muscle of the group. Hurry on back, buddy.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Murray does a little dance in his boat before speeding off in victory.*

\-----

**Red Hot Forest**

  * Stop the Fire Breaths.
  * Hack the sprinkler systems to put out the fires.



When Murray or Carmelita return to the safehouse, one of the monitors makes noises, attracting the group out as Metal Sonic appears on it, every other monitor and the windows looking outside.

Metal Sonic: “SO YOU FOOLS WISH TO RESIST ME, DO YOU?”

Sonic: “Were you really expecting anything different, you bucket of bolts?”

Metal Sonic: “I WASN’T. IT MAKES MY DEVILISH ACT FOR YOU THAT MUCH SWEETER.”

*Explosions are heard from afar.*

Sly: “What was that?”

Metal Sonic: “THE SOUND OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION OF THIS PLACE.”

*The explosions get closer, and it gets clear what’s happening as smoke starts appearing.*

Carmelita: “He’s not planning-”

Metal Sonic: “BUT I AM, FOX COP. YOU ALL WILL DIE OF SMOKE INHALATION UNDER THIS DOME, AND I WILL ENJOY YOUR SUFFERING.”

*The source of the explosion flies by, 3 Fire Breaths.*

Sonic: “Whoa! It’s those robots I once fought back on Angel Island way back then! They’re the source of the fires, I know it!”

Metal Sonic: “HOW OBSERVANT, COPY. NOW PAY ATTENTION TO THIS!”

*On every screen, a red bar appears on the left side with the fire symbol, and a blue bar on the right with the O2 symbol. The fire bar is rising as slow as the Oxygen bar is dropping.*

Metal Sonic: “UNLESS YOU DEFEAT THE FIRE BREATHS IN TIME, YOU WILL ALL CHOKE TO MY DELIGHT.”

Sonic: “You jerk! I’m gonna see their destruction, permanently!” *He runs off after one.*

Tails: “Sonic! Wait up!” *He chases after Sonic.*

Knuckles: “Well, I’m not going to be sitting around.” *He chases after another Fire Breath.*

Carmelita: “Hey! Wait up, echidna!” *She chases after Knuckles.*

Sly: “Um, how did we end up alone, guys?”

Bentley: “I guess they must know what to do, but I’ve never dealt with such technology before.”

*The sound of jet engines catches up behind them, the third Fire Breath. Murray was turned to see it.*

Murray: “Um… looks like we’re gonna have to figure that out, guys! It’s here!”

*Before talking about the bosses, it should be important to mention that the dome has changed to glowing reds and oranges, and grey and black smoke flow up into the air. Ash falls from the sky, turning the snow a murky grey as well, and the plants get slowly blacker.*

**BOSS: FIRE BREATH MK I**

Even though this is the original model of the Fire Breath, for the gang, this isn’t going to be easy. At this point, it’s flying high so it can’t be hurt by ground attacks, and it’s pelting our heroes with fire bombs, so steer clear of those. While it’s high, Murray will have to either throw something at it or Sly will have to be tossed by Murray to hit it in the air, but the latter comes at the risk of being burned by its front flamethrower, or its thrusters. Whatever attack works, the Fire Breath will come down and start to spin around with it’s flamethrower on, in lazy circles. Murray throwing things or using Bentley’s bombs make for safe attacks, though closer attacks are not out of the question if we dodge fast enough. After a few attacks, it will fly back up and need to be hit again to come back down. 10 hits will blow the robot to pieces.

Murray: “Whoo! That robot’s down! Wasn’t that fun, guys?”

Sly: “I nearly got singed! That was worse than any villain we fought so far.”

Bentley: “Y-yeah, but it’s gone now… But the fires are still burning. I-I gotta go deal with them!”

Sly: “N-not without us you’re not. We’ll protect you.” *Gulps* Before we choke.”

Murray: “Yeah, let’s get working!”

\--

In the meantime, we cut to Knuckles and Carmelita, who find the next Fire Breath.

Knuckles: “So there’s that flamer himself! I’m going to rip you to pieces, just like I did on Angel Island!”

Carmelita: “Mobile target practice, eh? Let’s have some fun.”

**BOSS: FIRE BREATH MK II**

Don’t let the Mk II be too much of a threat indicator. The only thing it has that’s new is some metal plating covering it here and there to act as extra shielding. It does bounce off the shock pistol blasts, but we’re just as likely to hit a non-paneled part and damage it, so go wild. From there, it will drop down and spin more wildly and go faster in set patterns. Knuckles should be fast enough still to hit the machine, even through the paneling, but it can be a bit difficult. In any case, this too takes 10 hits to its non-armored parts to break to pieces.

Carmelita: “Aw, that all you got? I’m dealt with stronger things.”

Knuckles: “Well, in any case, we showed them!”

Carmelita: “Yeah. Now let’s see if we can get these fires out.”

\--

Once again, we move off to see Sonic and Tails after the last Fire Breath.

Sonic: “Hah! Nowhere to run now, robot! You’re dead!”

Tails: “Yeah! Let’s kick some mechanic butt!”

**BOSS: FIRE BREATH MK III**

Well, it’s clear this one is where the new tech went to. It’s been fully encased in armor that needs to be popped off first. This one also fires more fire bombs, and they make larger explosions to dodge, and fire them all the time. This one also comes with four flamethrowers in all the cardinal directions to make it even tougher to fight. Tails will have to carry Sonic high enough to hit the robot in just the right spot to pop off a panel, and then hit an exposed spot to actually land a hit on the robot. It gets easier to get the panels off when it flies lower, but watch out for the fire. Tails is just as capable to hit the robot, but he does have a slightly greater chance of getting hit since he has to fly as well. In any case, once more, 10 hits to the exposed body will blow this robot apart too.

Sonic: “Whoo! Another boss torn to shreds! There’s nothing these bros can’t do together, right?”

Tails: “Yeah! We’re unstoppable! The unbreakable bond!”

Sonic: “Yeah, buddy! Now, let’s get these fires taken care of.”

Tails: “Right.”

\--

Around this point, Bentley and the others have found one of the computers that control the  water sprinkler systems, noted by being one of the scaffolding structures that reach into the dome of the ceiling.

Bentley: “I gotta hurry and hack into this, guys. Will you keep me safe?”

Sly: “Of course, buddy. We’ll protect you with our life.”

Murray: “We’ll beat everyone senseless!”

It’s time to hack fast as we deep dive into the circular grid that is the sprinkler system, our goal being the green ports at the end of each section. This should feel quite familiar to Bentley’s hack of the train system to break Sly out of jail, but here, it’s to turn on the sprinklers to put out the fires. The hacking segments aren’t too long, at most 2 minutes. And the only dangers present are from the excess of cyber badniks, but they should be easily beaten. Completing the hack turns on the sprinklers to douse some fires, which adds 3:00 minutes to constantly ticking clock, which started from 15:00 minutes. What’s going to eat up time is having the gang run to the next sprinkler system, marked with a waypoint, which have some distance between them. It’s best to choose the fastest ones to lead, which are Sly, then Carmelita, then Sonic/Tails to charge ahead as the other get rubber-banded by the AI to go faster. Hey, it works, why complain? :P In any case, it’s doable to hack all the sprinkler systems in time to save our butts and leave the place a rainy mess.

Metal Sonic: “WELL, AS EXPECTED, YOU SUCCEEDED, BUT WE’LL SEE HOW PREPARED YOU ARE FOR MY NEXT ATTACK.”

*He disappears from all the screens.*

**JOB COMPLETE** *The group stands together in victory, and toss Bentley in the air and dance him around.*

\-----

**Intermission 2**

*The only slide that ends up being placed on screen is the tower in the center of the dome.*

Bentley: “Well, after that scare, it’s obvious we must figure out where Metal Sonic is before it’s too late. The only way I see that happening is by hacking the tower in the center of this dome. I’m going to be working with Tails to get to the higher levels with his help if need be.”

Tails: “We’re hoping that it can offer us some clue on where Metal Sonic is. If he retaliates, it must mean we’re going in the right direction. After we deal with that, I’m not sure what we’ll do next, but I know we can do this.”

~~Thiefnet Upgrades~~

  * _Great Bombs of Fire_ : 500 Rings [Description: A special bomb for Bentley that explodes and sets fire to anything and anyone nearby to the bomb, using a bit of the thief meter. Enemies and badnik catch on fire and can spread it to other enemies.]
  * _Robo-Flickey_ : 500 Rings [Description: Using some of the thief reflex meter, Tails can release a robot flickey he made that can fly into badniks and guards and attack them from a safe distance, like the Flickeys in his super form in Sonic 3&K. It will blow up after a few hits, taking out whatever is in the radius of the explosion.]




	20. Episode 5: Paradise Lost: Job 5 through Operation Intermission

**Tower of Eggman**

  * Hack the computers on the tower.



Bentley is followed by Tails out of the cave and make their way to the tower at the center of the dome. ‘Rain’ from the sprinklers falls upon us and the ground, making it all squeaky as they walk and roll along the grass. The rain spray also leaves everything in a dark blue color. There are reds here and there, of struggling fires being put out. It’s still night time outside.

Bentley: “Okay, here we are. I have a feeling this might be one of the toughest things I’ll hack in my life.”

Tails: “Don’t worry, I’m here to help if need be. I’ve hacked an Eggman system before, so this shouldn’t be too hard.”

Inside these computers, we find ourselves going through various corridors that are shaped a lot more like Mad Matrix. The big obstacles around here are the color panel passcodes that prevent entry to other places. Some can be easily rolled over with the avatar, but others will need a shot from Bentley’s guns to change their color. They must all match the color of the section they are in to allow further access along the circuit boards, which, in order, ends up being Green, Blue, Yellow, and Red. On the Yellow and Red floors, Bentley is going to need a hacking assist from Tails, whose tank looks like a T-Pup. This one can fly over the board gaps and hit the floating targets around to make bridges for Bentley’s tank to move on and complete the area. Control switching between the two is simply by pressing the  **L1 Button** .

Outside of the hacking, Tails also helps by lifting Bentley up to higher levels his jumps can’t reach. Tails can grab someone by already flying and pressing the  **O button** to carry them along with him. It does cut his flight time in half though, so be careful. There are also some platforms that need to be pulled out with Tails’ Spin attack to reach higher places, and the highest ones are protected with metal that Bentley needs to shoot away with his grapple cam. At other times, there may be no mechanism to spin, but a panel Tails can open. At close observation, we can do the reverse and mess up the cords by pulling them out and plugging them in elsewhere, short-circuiting the board and making the platforms pop out that way.

With the final hacking, Bentley and Tails finally get what they are searching for.

Bentley: “Ahh, there we go! Finally, what we needed!”

Tails: “What is it? What does it say?”

Bentley: “The underground sensors have been turned over to our side, and they tell me Metal Sonic is underground.”

Tails: “Wow, nice job, Bentley. Now… the only problem is how to get under.”

Bentley: “Yeah. The computer suggests there are codes to shut off the security, but we can’t access their terminals from this side.”

Tails: “Sonic might be able to do it, at least. I’ll talk to him about doing it.”

Bentley: “Alright then. Let’s get back to base.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Both nerds do the robot before high-fiving in victory.*

\-----

**Metal Sonic Strikes Back**

  * Destroy the badnik factories.
  * Stop the tracking machines.



*Bentley’s computer goes off, warning of incoming guards closing in on their safe haven.*

Bentley: “Oh no! They’ve found us! And they’re coming this way!”

Murray: “Leave this to me, guys! I’ll beat them all up!”

Tails: “I don’t think that’s good enough. I’m getting data of tracking signals and badnik producers. Metal Sonic must be wanting to sic an army of enemies on us!”

Knuckles: “Don’t worry then, Murray, I’ll help you in the beatdown and we can find what’s leading them to us and smash them.”

Murray: “Awesome! Let’s get fighting!”

It’s an all-out beatdown to rival the numbers done in a lemonade stand. We’re fighting an endless horde of badniks and guards, and these guys can be quite dangerous in large numbers. There’s not much to suggest, other than keep moving and tossing guards into each other. Waypoints lead us to various parts of the forest, where we’ll find either a tube coming from underground to spew out badniks, or a satellite dish that’s tracking the heroes, or both. The tubes must be plugged with a guard to back up the badniks and cause an explosion underground, while the dishes are easily broken with 7 hits. They are found in most of the deeper forests. Destroying them will slowly dwindle the numbers away until they finally stop coming.

Murray: “Whoo! We must have taken down an army!”

Knuckles: “Heh, and neither of us broke a sweat. So how’s it looking guys?”

Tails: “All the tracking signals are gone, and so do the badnik numbers.”

Murray: “Awesome! Heading back now!”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Both fighters pretend fight with each other before jumping in victory.*

\-----

**A Fool’s Gold**

  * Steal the codes from the guards.
  * ‘Beat up’ Sonic the Hedgehog.



Sonic leaves the safehouse, and the mission starts.

Sonic: “Hmm, so I’m going to pickpocket guards for the codes to the cave, right?”

Tails: “Yeah. Bentley thought they might come in handy. Though, we have no clue on how to get in.”

Sonic: “You guys will find a way, I know it.”

Tails: “We would, but Murray, Sly, and Bentley have disappeared and they left their binocucoms here.”

Sonic: “Hmm… Aw well, no time to think on that, I got codes to steal. See ya soon, buddy.”

Normally, this would be a job for Sly, but since he’s gone AWOL, this job falls to Sonic. We will use his Time Break ( **L2 Button** ) to slow down time and then pickpocketing the guards with the  **O button** while they are moving real slow. It takes a bit of time to recharge so be careful of where it is finished. There are 5 codes in total to steal, 2 around the cabin area, one in the mountains, and two around the lake.

Once all of them are collected, Sonic gets a new waypoint in a clearing in the western side of the dome, where no missions have been at yet. Once there, the Cooper Gang comes out of the shadows.

Sonic: “Oh, this was your waypoint calling me. Well, I got the codes, guys.”

Sly: “Good. Now be a good hedgehog and surrender.”

Sonic: “Surrender? Me? I think you guys don’t know me too well. I never give up.”

Murray: “Oh boy! Then that means I can release the real Murray on you!”

Tails, over the binocucom: “Wait, what? S-sonic?”

Sonic: “Don’t hold back then, guys. Give me all you got!”

Bentley: “We’re gonna show Eggman and Metal Sonic who we’re really working for.”

Murray: “And get my van back!”

Sly: “Get ready for a beat-down, Sonic the Hedgehog!”

**BOSS: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ???**

Whoa, what the heck is going on? This isn’t the Dreamcast era! So why are we fighting Sonic?! Well, someone is certainly taking notice, as most of the nearby cameras on the structures are filming towards this fight scene. Perhaps the gang is smarter than we thought. So, how does one beat the unbeatable hedgehog? Well, Sonic is bringing the pain by charging up a spin dash and attacking the leader in control for some fair damage. If that misses, he’ll use a homing attack that rarely misses its target. After that follows a tornado spin to toss the leader upward and follow with another homing attack in the air. When Sonic uses his home attacks, the only way to retaliate is with an attack of our own right before it connects, so we hurt Sonic first. When he’s spindashing, the best attack would be using Bentley’s bombs to make Sonic go over them to hurt him that way. It's kind of a hard fight, but Sly and the gang have dealt with worse. The blue hedgehog will eventually go down.

Sonic: “W-wha? But… how…” *He collapses onto the ground, defeated.*

Murray picks up Sonic: “Phew, that was hard.”

Bentley: “I’ve never had such a hard battle before.”

Sly pickpockets the codes: “Now you guys know how I feel after a battle. Now, let’s hurry before the others figure out what we are doing.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *The gang huddle together, holding up Sonic as their prize.*

\-----

**Operation Intermission**

*The slide shows the gang walking away from the clearing with Sonic in Murray’s hands.*

Knuckles: “I KNEW IT!!! I KNEW THEY WERE TROUBLE!!! LOOK WHAT THEY DID!! THEY’RE GOING TO TAKE SONIC TO EGGMAN!!! I’M GONNA KICK THEIR-”

Carmelita can be heard audibly slapping Knuckles: “El stupido! Ringtail may be an instinct first fool, but they always think way more ahead than they look. THINK! Why would they leave their binocucoms and beat up Sonic in front of every camera?”

Tails: “Hmm, I admit, Sonic should have been able to beat them, no offense.”

Carmelita: “None taken, I believe that too. So why would he let them beat him so easily?”

Knuckles groans: “Ooo, Metal Sonic would be way too hard for them to be alone for sure, too.”

Tails: “Oh?... That’s it! It’s to trick Metal Sonic! It’s like a trojan horse!”

*A new slide shows up, with the words Operation: Trojan Hedgehog quickly written on it.*

Tails: “They’re taking a ‘beaten’ Sonic to Metal Sonic, who will let down his guard enough to reveal his hand. Once close enough, they spring a trap, possibly Sonic being still alive to kick that Metal’s butt! It’s genius!”

Knuckles: “Yeah… I guess it is. Ow…”

Carmelita: “See, I told you. Now, we should act like we still don’t know what’s going on, so we better be ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Let’s get going, everyone! Rapido, RAPIDO!!”


	21. Episode 5: Paradise Lost: Operation Trojan Hedgehog through Conclusion

**Operation: Trojan Hedgehog**

  * Take Sonic to Metal Sonic.



We return to the gang carrying Metal Sonic, as they enter the cavern in the mountains. The traps deactivate as we walk by them. The cave shimmers with orange and multicolor electric lights and gadgets, and the panels are a deep metallic blue like the monster at the end of the cave. After about a minute of walking, we enter an expansive cave, complete with an underground river. The panels are heat formed to make stalactites and stalagmites, to make it feel as real as a cave can be. The laser turn back on behind us preventing escape. Further in the cavern is a huge circular panel expanse, with Metal Sonic moving around working things. Once we get close, he stops and gets out.

Metal Sonic: “I KNEW YOU WERE READY TO TURN AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE.”

Sly: “Yep. We were just working with them to gather the Emeralds for Eggman once the imbeciles were done goofing around with them.”

Metal Sonic: “THAT’S WHAT I TOLD MASTER. GIVING IT TO THEM IS JUST USELESS.”

Bentley: “Heh he, yeah. Rajan, El Jefe and General Tsao never would use them the right way.”

Metal Sonic: “DID YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM? THEY GAVE IN TO THEIR EMOTIONS AND BECAME CRAZY AND EASY TO BEAT. NOW ME, I HAVE NO EMOTIONS, SO I WON’T BE AFFECTED BY THIS.”

*He pulls out the Blue Chaos Emerald, holding it in his hand. Their target was in sight, so they close in for the trap.*

Sly: “We can see that. So, how about we make a trade?”

Metal Sonic: “I DON’T DO TRADES. YOU WILL GIVE ME SONIC RIGHT NOW!”

Sly: “We will, we will. But we need the Blue Emerald first. Gotta get it over to the boss, you know.”

Metal Sonic: “WHY WOULD I? I’M HEADING THERE TOO. YOU WILL ALSO GIVE ME YOUR EMERALDS.”

Sly, to Murray: “Get ready…”

*Metal Sonic scans them and finds them Emerald-less, minus the Cyan Emerald in Sonic’s possession.*

Metal Sonic: “WHERE ARE THE OTHER EMERALDS?”

Sly: “W-well, we didn’t exactly have time to steal it from our-”

Metal Sonic: “WHATEVER. YOUR JOB IS FINISHED. I WILL STEAL THEM BACK EASILY MYSELF. NOW, TO GET THAT CYAN EMERALD.”

*Metal Sonic seems to charge up a tractor beam, but before it gets far…*

Sly: “Murray! NOW!!”

*Murray tosses Sonic hard, who ‘wakes’ up and quickly rolls into a ball. With the speed he was going, there was no time for Metal Sonic to dodge and he got hit square in the chest with enough force to chuck the Blue Emerald out of his hand and flies towards the gang.*

Metal Sonic: “NOO!!!”

*Murray was already on the move and catches the Blue Emerald before it hits the ground, and is whisked away in a blue light.*

Metal Sonic: “GRRR!!!”

Sonic: “Aw, sad that we beat you with a convincing trap? Good thing these guys were SMARTER than you were.”

Metal Sonic: “SMARTER? THEY ARE TRAPPED WITH YOU IN THIS CAVERN WITH NO ESCAPE, AGAINST A MACHINE THAT HAS A HIGHER IQ THAN WHAT WAS 4 OF YOU COMBINED.”

Bentley: “Hey! My friends are talented and smart in their own ways! You’re only one machine, and can do what your AI allows you to. You’re trapped in here with us too!”

Metal Sonic: “IS THAT SO? MY AI HAS DETERMINED THAT TO CAPTURE THE HEDGEHOG, I MUST DEFEAT YOU FIRST, HANDICAPPED TURTLE.”

Bentley: “What, what?”

Sonic: “Bentley, look out!”

*It was too late. Metal Sonic already had powered his engines and sped toward Bentley at full speed, catching him before the others could move. He pushed the turtle into the circular panel that controls the weather of the dome with him, and brings up a glass wall that stops the other heroes from following. The metallic floor starts raising fast.*

Metal Sonic: “YOU WILL BE EASILY DEFEATED, TURTLE. YOUR ADVANCED WHEELCHAIR HAS NO CHANCE OF STOPPING ME.”

Bentley chuckles softly: “You think because I’m paralyzed from the waist down, that I am an easy target?”

Metal Sonic: “I HAVE NOT FOUGHT SOMEONE AS OBVIOUSLY HINDERED AS YOU ARE. BUT I HAVE ALSO CHOSEN YOU SINCE YOUR THE BRAINS OF THE COOPER GANG. WITHOUT YOU, THEY FALL EASILY. YOU ARE THE DETERMINED THREAT.”

Bentley snorts: “Heh, it’s nice to be noticed, but I’m going to show you that these brains have the power to defeat you!”

Metal Sonic: “BRING IT, HACKER!!!”

*The floor reaches the level of the dome with the panel going under the floor, and we find ourselves in the enclosure that we fought Sonic earlier, but it now has a wide moat flooding far into the tree line. No one will have easy access here. The rain continues to pour, as hard as it can be.*

\-----

**Boss: Metal Sonic**  

Metal Sonic has downloaded data from his past successors to become the closest to invincible that he can be. He flies around the arena in the air, out of our reach, taunting us so. While speeding around, he’ll tend to throw electric balls from his torso at our direction, with either 1, 2, or 3 shots that can only be dodged with constant movement. It follows with dropping low enough and boosting at supersonic speed either facing forwards or backwards that again has to be dodged with movement. He can’t be attacked in this form with the wind barrier he’s producing around himself from the high speed. The only time this barrier drops is when the robot performs an attack where he supercharges the air with the electricity from his engines and blows the sparks among the rain in long lines and spins them around. This overheats him and shuts him off for 4 seconds, giving Bentley the chance to attack Metal with a spin or a bomb before he wakes to damage him. This has to be done 8 times to beat Metal Sonic for good, who collapses in a heap when defeated.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Bentley dances as he gets poured on, smiling as everyone else, minus Murray, comes to him.*

\-----

**The** **Blue Emerald’s** **Tranquility**

Panel #1: The Guru’s Overlook 

*With a flash of blue lighting, Murray appears on a cliff face that looks like their Australia. Nearby is the Guru’s hut and who should immediately come out other than a paper version of The Guru.*

*The Paper Guru speaks incoherently.*

Murray: “Well, I can only guess I’m here because I’m to learn tranquility again?”

*The Guru shakes his head and speaks.*

Murray: “I’m already tranquil enough? Then do I get the Blue Emerald then?”

*The Guru speaks.*

Murray: “Oooh. I can unlock my true potential by being a bit less punchy and more concentrated.”

*The Guru nods and points the way to the next panel.*

Ah, Rumble Down Under, looks like we aren’t done with it, are we? Murray’s been greeted by his mentor who has taught him how to find inner peace, and now he wants him to learn how to become the best fighter he can. And it’s looking like this is going to be the course to teach us how to do so.

Panel #2: Super Thunder Flop 

Murray starts with contending with a lot of small creatures, and is directed to do his Thunder Flop ( **X** , followed by **Square** ) but pressing Square at the top of his jump. When it’s done there, he comes down much harder and faster, making a shockwave that tosses the enemies far away. It also damages bigger enemies much more painfully. We are then directed to the next panel through a door.

Panel #3: Punch, Punch, PUNCH! 

Murray is lead into a cave to fight against the boxing kangaroo with the Mask of Dark Earth on it from Sly 3, but we are encouraged to let Murray finish his animation before punching again, which leads to a stronger second punch, followed with a very devastating third punch that knocks the kangaroo into the wall. This continues until the Kangaroo breaks through the cavern wall and we are jump our way to the next panel.

Panel #4: The Super Throw 

The kangaroo is left very dazed now, so we are able to pick it right up with the **R1 button**. But, before we throw it into the nearby target wall, we are directed to hold the R1 button to spin the kangaroo around, which hurts anything that contacts the spin, and let go when a cursor which is Murray’s hand, points at the center of the target. With this super throw, the kangaroo shatters the rock wall in one hit rather than what would be done in 3 or so hits.

Panel #5: Meteoric Uppercut 

Back outside in the desert for now, Murray is now taught that after doing two punches like he did underground, that if he replaces the third with a strong attack ( **Triangle** ), he will uppercut his opponent. They will fly high up in the air and come back down with enough speed to create a shockwave when they hit the ground and hurt all the guards nearby.

Panel #6: Aboriginal Ball Spindash 

Taking some inspiration from Sonic, Murray learns how to spin in place in the Aboriginal Ball Move and perform his own spin dash by pressing Square repeatedly and let it fly to roll pretty far. This helps him break through cavern walls made of rubbled rock and he rolls down slopes and STRIKES out a 10-pin of enemies.

Panel #7: The Unstoppable Murray 

We are deep at the bottom of the mine and we are here to learn Murray’s ultimate move worthy of his wrestling attire: The Unstoppable Murray! By holding the regular attack button and strong attack button ( **Square** and **Triangle** ) for 5 seconds, Murray can find his inner hippo and surround himself in a blue aura. With it, anything he hits, no matter how strong, is defeated instantly. The Unstoppable Murray lasts 30 seconds, which is enough time to deliver the beatdown to all the guards and badniks in this shaft. Once they are all defeated, a fan turns on in the center, and blows us up the mine shaft to the surface where we get the Blue Emerald from the Paper Guru.

Murray: “Thanks, Guru!”

*He speaks, and cheers Murray’s name.*

Murray: “I will!”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Murray holds the emerald in his hands, doing a cautious dance as he carries it.*

\-----

**Conclusion** :

*The gang is shown breaking out of the cave, joining the others and running over to where Bentley is, who is standing next to a defeated Metal Sonic. They grab him and hug him.*

Sly, narrating: “We were able to escape from the cave, and with a little ingenuity, make it over to our pal, who had just defeated Metal Sonic.”

*Metal Sonic then reanimates himself and presses a button on his wrist that starts the self-destruct countdown.*

Sly, narrating: “Unfortunately, we learned Metal Sonic was much like a cockroach, as he rebuilt himself fast, and decided to leave us a parting present.”

Metal Sonic: “YOU MAY HAVE WON NOW, BUT I WILL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH. HERE IS YOUR PRESENT.”

*Murray suddenly appears in a blue flash, grabs them all, then drags them all in a blue flash out of the dome and into the plane, and they fly off just in time to escape the self-destruct explosion.*

Sly, narrating: “Since there was no escape, we thought we were going to die. But before we knew it, Murray appeared in a blue flash, grabbed us all in a big hug, and flashed us away onto the Tornado. According to Sonic, Murray had performed Chaos Control, and got us out through a rip in spacetime. We didn’t have much time to process that, as we quickly hopped onto the plane and narrowly escaped the explosion of the dome.”

*Everyone sighs as they sit on the flying plane, but there is no rest as Amy calls on the Miles Electric, reporting from Never Lake that strange things were happening there. They fly off towards the horizon, where it looks like the sun is rising.*

Sly, narrating: “As we flew to regain our composure, and denote the fifth emerald collected, we got a new call on the Miles Electric, from a pink-colored hedgehog.”

Amy: “Sonic? Oh, thank heavens, I got you. We need help here at Never Lake. A weird crocodile is using black magic and it’s severely corrupting the natural time magic here. I’m worried she might cause too much damage and prevent Little Planet from coming back again…”

Sonic: “Of course, Amy. We’re on the way now!”

Sly, narrating: “A black magic crocodile, huh? Looks like we’re going to dig that voodoo again and teach her another lesson.”


	22. Episode 6: Black Magic Crocodile: Introduction through First Intermission

**Introduction** :

*The Tornado and the gang are shown in dark silhouette as they approach Never Lake at the break of dawn. Ghostly images form of Little Planet and the 7 Time Stones around it above the lake.*

Sly, narrating: “As dawn started to break on the horizon, a beautiful lake nestled between mountains came into view. According to Amy Rose, the pink hedgehog, this was Never Lake, a mystical place with magic imbued in its soil. Plenty of strange phenomenon occurs here, the greatest one being the appearance of a small moon called Little Planet. On it are jewels like the Chaos Emeralds called Time Stones, which provide the moon and surrounding area it appears at the power of time travel.”

*Mz. Ruby is shown, and she’s shown using her black magic powers robbing banks and attacking Sly like she did in Sly 1.*

Sly, narrating: “Of course, the black mage known as Mz. Ruby would be all too tempted to want this power for herself. She’s already a strong individual with the powers of black magic, able to awaken and control the dead and perform other dark skills to do whatever she pleases.”

*The ghostly image of Mz Ruby looms behind the forms of Little Planet and the Time Stones, cackling and slowly grabbing them and using them to alter the past, the big one showing Sly dead in a grave.*

Sly, narrating: “Time is not on our side, as we only have a couple hours until Little Planet returns in the sky for its annual visit. Once it does, she and her minions will have an easy time snatching up the Time Stones. Once she has them… we’re all doomed. We have to stop her before it’s too late.”

Sly Cooper, his Gang, and Team Sonic in…

*Little Planet parks itself above the shores of Never Lake, as a black chain snags it and a storm brews over the lake and the planet. The title of the episode appears: ‘  **Black Magic Crocodile** ‘.

\-----

**Hub Layout** : As the first rays of light shine over the lake, it becomes obvious that Mz. Ruby has exerted her influence over the land. The cliffs of the lake have become mossy and dead, and the edges of the lake look swampy. The once rolling grass hills have gone muddy and slowly dying, save around the river where it has gotten marshy and flooded with water. Trees have sprouted, twisted and died in only 3 days times, leaving the area also covered in dead vegetation. With all the black magic done in the area, any of the regular wildlife has died and become skeletons. Though, with Eggman’s help, it seems they’ve dug up huge skeletons from underground and added to the generally creepy them and made Never Lake completely cursed. Tombstones litter whatever ground hasn’t been touched, along with mausoleums and the like to ensure the draw of the dead from all over the planet.

The gang has made their safehouse right on the fringes of dead land to the south, in what appears to be a small house with the Eggman insignia on the side. In fact, the whole town that cropped up here has Eggman’s insignia on each of them. Perhaps he is planning on cashing in on tourism of the mysticism and the new haunted stuff. The houses start small close to the safe house before growing in size, becoming mansions near the lake. The mansions have huge yards, which are protected by high, spiked fences that are also electrified. There is a void in the northern section of town, filled entirely with graves, and right at the back, looming over Never Lake, is a huge mausoleum that rivals in size to the other mansions. The mausoleum screams being Mz. Ruby’s hideout, the biggest fact being the humongous eel/crocodile skeleton draped over the building.

**Enemies** :

  * **Owls** : Mz. Ruby couldn’t resist giving a good scare to Sly’s eventual arrival by hiring some owls to act as her air troops. The owls silently fly around, only noticed by their shadows passing by, until they come down and attack a thief unsuspected. When they aren’t flying, they perch on the nearest branch, pole, banisters and other perches and become makeshift security cameras. Their eyes glow yellow like spotlights, making beams on the floors and walls. They can only be defeated when they aren’t in attack mode, which has their eyes glowing red. It carries or will drop 15-17 rings and small sized items can be pickpocketed from them.
  * **Black Cats** : The magical croc lured these dark cats to work in her army and they certainly make things a lot harder. They pop out of big shadows when least expected and their eyes glow when they are about to cast a homing spell. Watch out as their spells range from reversing movement, stealing rings to their own purse, or the worst being warping us elsewhere like the beginning of a building or into a trap. They will attack with their claws or bite at close range, but they’re easier to dodge than the spells which require dodging at the last moment. It carries or will drop 15-17 rings and small sized items can be pickpocketed from them.
  * **Opossum** : Mz. Ruby recruited these critters to be a nasty surprise for our heroes. If they aren’t sneaking around, they will go into a ‘dead’ stance, acting defeated. But once we’re close enough, they spring alive and snap attack at us for big damage unexpected for small rodents. It will also continue clawing at us until their true defeat. Also keep a watch for them as they will hide in coffins, graves, under the bed covers and anywhere else they can make a sneaky surprise from. It carries or will drop 15-17 rings and small sized items can be pickpocketed from them.
  * **Goats** : Anthro goats that have dabbled in the dark arts perhaps a bit too much. They trot around, looking for thieves high and low. If spotted, their eyes narrow and glow red, and go berserk, by charging around back and forth and butting the enemy away with their horns. Only a strong attack can leave them dazed when they are berserk, or multiple hits to their back will take them down too. It carries or will drop 16-18 rings and offers the medium item as its pickpocket reward.
  * **Newts** : Mz. Ruby gathered these salamanders to be the foot soldiers of her black magic army. They scurry around on all fours, even up and down walls and high slopes, in search of trespassing thieves. When they spot their prey, they get onto two legs and their eyes start glowing purple, before they release a ball of dark magic to chase us with, which rarely misses at close range. Touching it will burn, electrify, or freeze us, hurting and leaving us vulnerable to another attack. Best to fight from a fair range to avoid that dark magic since it can’t go too far. It carries or will drop 16-18 rings and offers the medium item as its pickpocket reward.
  * **Skeletons** : With all the bones Mz. Ruby, Eggman, and their minions pulled and dragged from underground, the croc herself decided to put them to use and make them part of her army as well as flashlight guards. Their eyes end up being the flashlights, providing two beams to avoid. They got the heads and wings of a bat, the body of wolves and 8 limbs to make them spider-like. In fact, they attack with spider silk to trap their opponent, then come in with claws and teeth to defeat them, making them dangerous foes. Thankfully, strong hits will make them fall apart, allowing for the crushing of each bone part to take them out for good. It carries or drops 17-19 rings and will offer the large sized items for pickpocketing.
  * **Voodoo Practitioner Pawn** : A dangerous pawn in dark purple robes that carry around voodoo dolls that change to the player character. They can send out a ball of energy that if touched, will turn us into the animal the player character is for 10 seconds, which can let other badniks attack our weaker bodies. Otherwise, they’ll just throw pins as a last, close combat resort. Drops 17 rings when smashed.
  * **Stone Pawns** : As stated on the tin, they are Egg Pawns made out of marble or stone, hiding among the real statues until the player walks by, and reveals they are using an actual spear/sword/gun. Being made of stone and marble, they take a few more hits to crumble and finally break into dust. Drops 17 rings when smashed.
  * **Lumin** : A badnik shaped like a candle, lanterns, or light bulb, hanging on candlesticks, chandeliers, sockets and the like. When approached, they start floating and aiming to burn/zap us. A safe hit to their sticks/threads will pop them. Drops 18 rings when smashes.
  * **Weeg/Ouij** : Ouija boards that act inanimate on furniture or walls that come alive when we are close. When they do, they start spelling out the player character’s name, and if they succeed, it will ‘send’ them to an alternate dimension… Okay, not actually, they just make the scenery purple and bring lots of Boom Boos and Hyudoros to the scene to make things tougher. Though, when everything is purple, don’t let them spell the name again, or something worse will come... Drops 19 rings when smashed.
  * **De-Bot** : Even divine beings made by the hands of God and The Devil are unsafe from the Doctor’s tinkering. Modeled from goats, they are taller than Egg Pawns and much buffer than them too, so they won’t go down easily. They also have quick attacks that mean a lot of dodging. They tend to float with their wings and keep stabbing the space ahead of them with their pitchforks. The only way to defeat them is from the back where they are a bit weaker, going down in 3 hits. Drops 20 rings when smashed.
  * **Boom Boos and Hyudoros** : The scaring ghosts and rabbit-shaped ghost were scooped up by Eggman and brought here to Never Lake to add on to the haunting factor. They attack by a sudden charge at a moment’s notice. Any attack to them will make them go away for a while, but they will return to their haunting spot eventually.



Treasures:

From Guards:

  * _Small Amethyst_ : Worth 60 rings.
  * _Medium Amethyst_ : Worth 70 rings.
  * _Large Amethyst_ : Worth 80 rings.



On Pedestals:

  * _Quartz Crystal_ : A big chunk of quartz, probably that fell off Little Planet. It would fetch quite a lot of money. Found on a pedestal on the town square. Worth 200 rings.
  * _Angel Statue_ : Hmm? Quite a strange statue. Passing near it sprouts rings out of its hands. Might as well take it back to the safehouse. Found near the left manor. Worth 300 rings, and makes every ring doubled from its collection onwards.
  * _Futuristic Plant_ : It appears to be one of the mechanical plants from Collision Chaos’ Good Future, meant to pump oxygen. Wonder why it’s here? Found near Mz. Ruby’s mausoleum. Worth 500 rings.



~~Jobs~~

**Swampy Recon**

  * Get a picture of the church.
  * Get a picture of the Eggman insignia-ed houses.
  * Get pictures of the two manors.
  * Get pictures of the graveyard.
  * Get a picture of Mz. Ruby’s mausoleum.



Sly slinks out of their safehouse and climbs onto the roof and looks around their new surroundings of Never Lake at dawn. The orange light drapes over the faux town, making it look like it’s eternally Halloween, not helped by the use of older street lamps and cast iron fencing and stone walls. The light casts many shadows over everything, making for plenty of hiding spots for thieves and guards alike.

Sly: “Is this town supposed to just be Halloween?”

Sonic: “It’s what Dr. Eggman usually does, but this town wasn’t here before. In fact, none of this was.”

Amy: “Ooooh, they’ve killed off the beauty that once was Never Lake and turned it into a true Halloween attraction.”

Bentley: “Don’t worry, Amy. We’ll stop Mz Ruby and Eggman before it ends up being too late.”

Amy: “Please do. I really like this place a lot, and I hate seeing it so dead.”

Sly: “We won’t fail you, Amy. Now I’m going to get to recon.”

Well, reconnaissance here is going to be quite a bit tougher what with the greater amount of guards and badniks around, but it shouldn’t be too impossible. Recon today starts real close at the safe house, getting a picture of the Eggman insignia plastered on the side. From there, it’s on to get the pictures of the church near the center of town, the manors from their electrified gates, the graveyard, and Mz. Ruby’s huge mausoleum.

*Upon getting a picture of the safe house wall.*

Sonic: “Is that Eggman’s ugly mug placed upon this building?”

Sly: “Yeah, but it seems to be on every single piece of property here, even Mz Ruby’s possible hideout.”

Tails: “That would mean that he made them, so he is planning on making a housing community here.”

Sonic: “Talk about a dangerous tourist trap.”

*Upon getting a picture of the church.*

Sly: “I’m not exactly a religious fella… but something tells me that praying to Eggman and Mz. Ruby seems incredibly wrong.”

Sonic: “No surprise that ol’ Eggface wants everyone to pray to him.”

Sly: “Well, we aren’t getting in right now. The door has a metal padlock on it.”

*Upon getting a picture of one of the manors.*

Sly: “I wonder what kind of riches could be hiding in those buildings.”

Carmelita: “Cooper…”

Sly: “Kidding, honey. Still, it’s huge. I wonder what’s hiding in there.”

*Upon getting a photo of the graveyard.*

Sly: “Well, I’m getting memories from us being stuck in Prague.”

Bentley: “You mean the Evil Wolf Priestess?”

Sly: “Yeah, but an even worse chill for some reason.”

Sonic: “Well, we do got ghosts like Bomb Boos, rabbit spirits called Hyuduros, Pumpkin Ghosts and other spiritual critters.”

Sly, with a scared tone: “Delightful…”

*Upon getting a picture of the mausoleum.*

Sly: “I may be wrong, but I think I’m hearing chanting. Maybe Mz. Ruby is starting a ritual?”

Amy: “Little Planet arrives in the next hour or so. She might be getting it started.”

Bentley: “Then we better not waste too much time then. I’d be worried what a black mage can do with time magic.”

*Once getting them all.*

Sly: “Phew, done, though I’m a bit worse for wear with these guards.”

Knuckles: “Maybe Eggman’s clamping down on making this tougher for us.”

Sly: “I can only bet so.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sly dances around with his cane in victory.*

\-----

**Intermission 1**

*The first picture is a shot of the faux town.*

Bentley: “Something about this fake town is off… way off. But until we can get some more information, these secrets are staying hidden.”

*The slide changes to the church.*

Bentley: “Our first order of business goes to the strange church in the center of town. We’ve detected strong electrical signals coming from there which might mean it is where the power to the fences come from. I’m going to go down there, and see if I can hack off the power so we can enter the manor courtyards.”

*The slide changes back to the town.*

Tails: “While he’s doing that, Sly, you and Sonic will be sneaking around town and stealing keychains from the guards.”

Sly: “I assume I’m taking Sonic because the more tougher guards that I can’t sneak up on?”

Sonic: “Yep. Gonna use my Time Break to steal from them unexpectedly.”

Sly: “Nice.”

*The slide changes to the mausoleum with an arrow going down the mouth.*

Bentley: “Once we’ve regrouped, then we’re off to fly the improved T-Pup into Mz. Ruby’s hideout, and get some information on what they’re doing.”

Tails: “And then from there, we’ll see if we need to do further recon with the T-Pup.”

Amy: “Please hurry everyone, I know and feel it, Little Planet is coming soon. Please help save the place from evil.”

~~Thiefnet Upgrades~~

  * _Electric Charge, Level 2_ : 600 Rings [Description: The powerful blue charge from Sly 3, that powers Sly into a big spin and shocks most enemies for big damage.]
  * _Speed Break Extension_ : 550 Rings [Description: Doubles the amount of time Sonic can use Time Break.]




	23. Episode 6: Black Magic Crocodile: Job 2 through Second Intermission

**Unholy Ground**

  * Get into the underground.
  * Hack the computers to turn off the security systems.



Bentley rolls out from the safehouse and heads over to the church, still padlocked tight.

Tails: “So what’s your plan on getting in there?”

Bentley: “Bombing it, of course. But then I can only assume what I’ll find inside.”

Tails: “You think you can handle it?”

Bentley: “I’ve dealt with underground catacombs before, and now I got a more aerial wheelchair, I should be more than okay.”

Tails: “Good luck then.”

With a bomb on the padlock, it falls onto the ground with a thud and the doors open. Inside is not much resistance in security or traps, more just ugly architecture in the forms of Eggman statues and his badniks as the angels and apostles and the like.

Bentley: “Yuck, who thought this was good decor?”

Tails: “Eggman, unfortunately. He really is going all out on the ownership.”

Bentley: “Yeah. I’m just surprised by how far he’s gone.”

At the back of the church is another door, which leads down into the cellar tunnels. The walls and floor and ceiling are already lined with stone bricks, braced with wood beams, and lanterns hang from the ceiling lighting the way. In the more open cellars are stone Eggman statues with lasers emitting from their eyes, making things more difficult. Also found are wooden shelves full of bottles, figurines and other stuff. Most of the traps here besides the lasers are spikes coming out of the floor, along with guards and badniks.

Bentley: “Tight quarters down here. Looks like there’s not going to be many places to hide. Luckily my sleep darts should help with the guards. And it looks like there might be some way to bypass the traps.”

Indeed, for us, if there are too many spike traps in a row, the shelves can be knocked over and be made into bridges, and crush anything underfoot, so watch out. The stone statues, if they’re blocking a corridor entrance, can be bombed or shot at with the Grapple Cam to provide further access. The paths diverge a third of the way in the cellar, and snake around underground until they reach rooms filled with computers and transformers providing the power for the fences.

The digital worlds that these computers have are lined orange and actually go backwards through the halls we just went through in the overworld to the front doors of the church, where there is one each of the unlock nodes to shut off the power to the transformers. Laser generators exist in this digital world too, but can be destroyed all the same with ricochets if it needs to come to that.

Once both gates are unelectrified, the mission ends when Bentley leaves the church.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Bentley gives a thumbs-up to the fourth wall in victory.*

\-----

**Skeleton Keys**

  * Steal the 8 keychains.



Sly and Sonic leave the safehouse and make their way down the main street of town where the mission starts.

Sly: “Thanks for helping me out, Sonic. I’m not usually one to accept help, but these black cats, owls, and opossums make stealing from them very difficult.”

Sonic: “Well, since you’re a friend now, Sly, I’ll gladly help out.”

Tails: “Okay guys, the waypoints are out, and it looks like the guards are in 8 different houses, sleeping most likely. Just be careful not to defeat them before their keys are snagged.”

Sly: “We’ll make sure.”

We have our work cut out for us, having to find 8 keychains off all the guards. All of the houses they are in are locked, and although we can break in the doors, there are more sneakier ways inside. For example, there are vines or spire points providing ways to get onto the open second floor windows or porch roofs and entering the second floor from there. Some of the homes have cellar or kitchen doors that are unlocked to provide access inside too.  As noted by Tails earlier, most of the guards are asleep in bed, so it’ll be easy pickings from them, but watch out for the cards and bottles they have lined around to trip us up. The only tough guards will be the non-sleeper owl, the faking sleep opossum and one of the black cats who turns out not to be sleeping in bed. Sonic can make stealing their keys easier and leaving just as fast.

The mission ends once the last keychain is snagged and they get back outside.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sly and Sonic high five each other.*

\-----

**T-Pup’s Return**

  * Get into the Mausoleum and find Mz. Ruby.
  * Find the blueprints for the two manors.
  * Find and escape with the First Key.



Flying out the front window of the house, we guide the T-Pup straight into the eel/crocodile mouth and down its bone gullet into the back area of Mz. Ruby’s hideout. The orange light of dawn bends into the purples and greens of the spectrum here, leaving the place in perpetual eerie night time. Candles are used for most of the lighting everywhere and creaky floorboards and echoing marble complete the look. The halls snake around trees, coffins, and other signs of the dead with little walking space in between. In the center of the hideout is an alter upon a star rug. There are plenty of artifacts and the like and a skylight shines above, perhaps to catch Little Planet’s arrival up above. Right now, Mz. Ruby is chanting there, finishing up the spell when we catch a skeleton guard coming over.

Mz. Ruby: “You better have a good reason to be interrupting my work, guard. Or I’ll make you the next ingredient in my spells.”

Skeleton Guard: “T-telecast call from the boss, miss.” *He quickly uses the remote in his hand to turn on the nearby T.V., showing Eggman in a captain’s chair in an unfamiliar ship.*

Eggman: “Aaah, Mz. Ruby, you finally answer the damn phone.”

Mz. Ruby: “Can’t you see I’m a very busy crocodile?! I’m busy working on the spell to catch that planet!”

Eggman: “Well, I was checking in because it arrives in 1 hour starting now. And worse, the Cooper gang and Sonic and his friends are on the search for your Emerald! They beat up my little Metal for my sake!”

Mz. Ruby, sarcastically: “Well, boohoo. I feel so sad over the defeat of your child. Now can I please get back to work?”

Eggman: “Hmm, I see that the Purple Emerald hasn’t altered your emotions yet.”

Mz. Ruby: “Now why would I let that happen? I’m a powerful dark witch, I can’t let emotions control me!”

Eggman: “Excellent. Then I have full confidence that you can snag those Time Stones once Little Planet arrives.”

Mz. Ruby: “Good, now leave me ALONE!” *She magically shuts off the TV and the Skeleton guard hides.*

Mz. Ruby mutters to herself: “Good thing I made sure none of those fools can get inside. I got 3 keys preventing access, and even if they find the two in the manors, the third one is in here and they’ll never be able to get it! HAH! HA! HAH!!!”

Bentley: “Well, thank you, Mz. Ruby, for telling us.”

Tails: “I’m guessing we’re grabbing it with the claw we use to climb around with, huh?”

Bentley: “Yep. Then once we latch on to it, we can just fly off with it.”

While we make our way to the first key, we happen to stumble upon two maps of the manors, with gold stars representing where the keys were placed today.

Tails: “Hey, look at that. It looks to be the blueprints for the manors.”

Bentley: “Ooo, and they told us right where they keep the keys for the door. Let’s get a picture of them.”

Tails: “Oh, yeah, we put photography lens in the eyes too. Just gotta use the  **Select button** to bring it up then press the  **Square button** to get photos of them.”

Just simply grab photos of them when the guards leave the maps alone then it’s off to grab the key. The key is actually not a simple key shape, but more of a bedazzled blue skull with emerald green gem ‘eyes’ in the sockets. Once it’s collected, it’s time to fly the heck out of dodge with this key, but it’s complicated by the guards. An exclamation point notes a guard is close, which means they’ll have to drop the key off on the nearest table and hide until they get out of the way. After two more drop spots, we can finally escape out of the hole we came through and finish this mission.

**JOB COMPLETE** *The T-Pup does loop-de-loops with the key before heading back to the safehouse.*

\-----

**Intermission 2**

*Our first slide is of the front door of the hideout, then to the blue key.*

Bentley: “Thanks to our careful piloting, we’ve learned that there are 3 keys needed to enter Mz. Ruby’s safehouse. And even more carefully and to her dismay, we’ve scored the first one she was hiding.”

*The slide changes to the blueprints. A crude drawing of Murray gets put on the left manor, and Knuckles on the right manor.*

Bentley: “But they’re no time to celebrate as we got two keys to snag. Before she can have a chance to move the keys, Murray and Knuckles, you’ll be grabbing them. Murray gets the left manor, since it has more enemies, and Knuckles gets the right because it looks like it descends down the cliffs so just in case things get hairy, he’s okay.”

Murray: “You don’t think we got any big security to worry about roaming around?”

Knuckles: “Like we’d have any problems, Murray. We can beat them if they happen to be around.”

Murray: “Heh, yeah. The Murray will knock their lights out.”

Knuckles: “And so will I.”

*The slide changes to the graveyard, which has been updated with the cages.*

Bentley: “It appears when I turned off the electricity to the fences, I tripped whatever security they had hiding their collection of ghosts held in cages underground. Now that they are out in the open, it actually might be a good idea to break the cages and free the spirits. I have a feeling they will be willing to help out. Can you do it, Carmelita?”

Carmelita: “Hmm, I see some extra electrical locks. My shock pistol could open them up. So, yeah, leave them to me.”

Bentley: “Alright then, let’s hurry everyone.”

~~Thiefnet Upgrades~~

  * _Fire Wristbands_ : 650 Rings [Description: Using a bit of Thief Reflexes per use, Murray can add fire to all his attacks. His punches will burn enemies, and his Thunder Flop will spread a ring of fire along with the shockwave.]
  * _Golden Gloves_ : 650 Rings [Description: Using up some Thief Reflexes, Knuckles powers himself up with a red aura and performs a homing attack chain on all enemies around him until they are all defeated/destroyed.]




	24. Episode 6: Black Magic Crocodile: Job 5 through Operation Intermission

**Manor Mayhem Part 1**

  * Find the Second Key.
  * Defeat the Egg Manticore.



Murray leaves the safehouse and makes his way over to the manor to the northwest. The orange palette from earlier has been substituted for yellows gracing the scenery, as the shadows have dwindled a small bit. Most lights on the houses have gone off, save for the ones on the manors themselves. Inside the courtyards of the manors are well-kept dead lawns and water features of much extravagance. Statues and the like complete the stone walkways winding around to the front doors of the manor.

The insides of the manor are the usual grandeur expected from haunted Sonic stages. Wood paneling lines the walls, making for a real tradition, homey look. Paintings of past Sonic worlds, of Eggman and his machines, of Mz Ruby and Haiti, and more decorate the purple/gold wallpapered walls. Red and yellow lasers and cyan and yellow spotlights not brought by the owl guards hide in the light fixtures and statue eyes and walls. There’s plenty of high-end furniture gracing every room, just asking to be smashed over a guard/badnik or for their coins inside.

Murray: “Wow… this place is loaded. So many expensive things and just smells like a rich guy’s house.”

Sly “It’s even more extravagant than Rajan’s old palace. Bet there's lots of coins in here.”

Bentley: “Just keep a lookout for that key, Murray. For some reason, I can’t get a waypoint locked on it, and I’m not sure why.”

Murray: “I’ll search high and low, and break everything in between!”

Something must be important up on the second floor, as the grand staircase leading up is guarded by walls of lasers we can’t get around. As by Sonic logic, the lasers are being kept on by the guard presence in the downstairs areas, so it’s time to get smashing. Eggman really went all out on the furnishing, with 3 separate living rooms, 2 dining rooms, and a very large kitchen. Oddly, there are also broken machines and badniks strewn to and fro, as though they were broken already with no real purpose.

With all the robots downstairs destroyed, the lasers disappear and we can finally head upstairs. However, a strange green liquid is covering the entrance to the upper hallway and entering it causes something strange to happen.

The scenery has changed to be the manor deconstructed… or rather, being constructed. The guards and badniks wear hard hats and scaffolding is the floor of this 2nd floor of the manor. Since there is no roof, the sky is visible above, cloudy and the time suggests it’s midday in the sun. The grass below doesn’t look dead yet and the view outside the ‘windows’ suggest similarly with the other manor and mausoleum and town in construction.

Murray: “Guys? Can you hear me?”

*The headset he’s wearing only emits static.*

Murray: “Okay, Murray, what happened… I went through that green goo and now I’m in the manor while it’s in construction… so I went back in time a few days?”

Murray: “It has to be. Well, the green goo behind me is gone now, so I’m going to just have to explore here in the past. Maybe this is where the key is?”

With the way the scaffolding is placed, there is only one way to go, which is down the left ‘hallway’, finding rooms in construction and enemies to defeat. Once all are defeated, more lasers blocking the only finished furnished room up here is opened and inside the further wardrobe is red colored slime like the green one earlier. Entering it returns us back to the present day.

Bentley: “Murray! Are you alright? You disappeared and we couldn’t find you!”

Murray: “It’s okay. I was here… but while the manor was in construction. Like I went back to the past? Some green goo took me back then, and red goo dropped me back here.”

Tails: “Just like Knuckles dealt with. It seems to be pointing at they touched ectoplasm, and this area is known for time travel…”

Bentley: “Maybe the supernatural energy combined with Mz. Ruby’s black magic in the area along with the timespace energies here and created mini time portals through the ectoplasm?”

Murray: “I think that sounds like what happened, minus all those words. Maybe you can get the placement data in my binocucom to, um…”

Tails: “So we can communicate in the past, Murray?”

Murray: “Yeah.”

Bentley: “It could work, yeah. All we can do is try.”

Now in the present day hallways, everything is finished, and so are the dangerous security measures to be avoided. There are plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms to defeat badniks and guards in. Defeating them all opens up the lasers blocking the way into what appears to be an observatory overlooking Never Lake. Another batch of the green goo blocks the way to the deck outside.

Murray: “There’s more of the green goo, guys. You think it’s safe to go on?”

Bentley: “Yeah, we are pretty certain we got the signal able to head into the past too.”

Murray: “Okay…”

Heading through the portal, we immediately fall down to the grass courtyard.

Murray: “Ow… I fell.”

Bentley, through some static: “I guess they haven’t built the deck at that time. You okay?”

Murray: “Yeah, just in the courtyard now in the past. Am I close to the key, because I haven’t found it yet.”

Tails: “Huh? You haven’t? But it was supposed to be in the observatory.”

Murray: “It wasn’t there. Just the portal, unless it’s here in the past?”

Bentley: “You’ll just have to check.”

Left in the past version of the manor’s ground floor, we’ll have to find a way to enter the observatory from down here. This can be done by throwing the furniture inside out into the courtyard and dragging it to make steps up to the observatory, destroying badniks and machines keeping the windows closed. With the staircase made, we can finally enter upstairs and find the observatory room made and the second key, which is a yellow jeweled skull with orange gem eyes. Unfortunately…

Murray: “G-guys? I found the key…”

Bentley: “That’s great! Where is it?”

Murray: “In *Gulps* IN THE MOUTH OF A HUGE SKELETON MONSTER!!!”

*The skeleton roars, adjusting and getting up. It was a very huge, primitive beast skeleton… or is it? There are clearly some points of reference to Eggman’s robots made from the skeleton, like the arms and sickle claws of a Slicer, the tail of a Skorp, complete with a bone spike ball. The head, torso and legs come from a lion, completing the look to be a sort of manticore, Eggman’s way.*

**MINI-BOSS: EGG MANTICORE**

Make no mistake, this beast of bone is a killer. Those Slicer arms, the bane of every Sonic player, are always being thrown at us as it walks around near it. If we get too far, it will throw its spike tail like a Skorp to mace us in the face. It’s best to just run and keep distance from the Egg Manticore and throw guards and other items strewn around the garden with Murray’s super throw at it. Enough hits to the arms and tail will make them explode off like most of Eggman’s robots, leaving just the lion part roaring and blowing us away. When it’s not roaring, throw more stuff at it to blow this whole skeleton to bony, electric bits when its health is gone.

*When the skeleton explodes, the skull it was holding flies out and lands in Murray’s grasp.*

Murray: “I defeated it, and got the KEY!!!”

Bentley: “Oh, thank heavens, we were worried.”

Murray: “Now how am I going to get out of here…”

Tails: “This is going to be odd to suggest, but try the fridge? I think I got some negative time particles coming out from it here in the present. Perhaps that’s where the exit is in the past?”

Murray: “Got it.”

Indeed, once back inside the manor, the fridge was opened in the ruckus and has the red goo in it, allowing us to return to the present. Once back in the right time, just head out the manor gates to finish the mission.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Murray pulls out the skull and spins it on his finger like a basketball in victory.*

\-----

**Manor Mayhem Part 2**

  * Find the 3rd Key.
  * Defeat the Egg Badger Mole.



Knuckles leaves the safehouse and heads over to the northeast manor, which is similar in aesthetics, but the back side of the house actually goes over the cliff. Below, the waters churn and splash against the rocks jutting out from the lake and along the cliff walls. The water is murky and green, dead with vegetation. It looks as if it could go black at any moment. At the manor doors, green ectoplasm covers the entrance inside.

Knuckles: “Ew, it looks like some giant thing sneezed all over the entrance!”

Tails: “Weird… do we even have an idea what it is?”

Bentley: “I might have an idea, but it’s hard to tell unless Knuckles is willing to go in. And we might lose contact.”

Knuckles: “If it’s not snot… okay…”

We head through and find ourselves in the past version of the manor. The past is conveyed with sepia-tone saturating all of the colors, meaning everything ends up a sort-of yellow-tan. The only things still vibrant of color is Knuckles, certain guards that probably have to pass through the ectoplasm, and the Key that we’re looking for. Sepia-toned guards and badniks also patrol, which won’t notice us at first but have to be defeated in the interest of turning off the lasers here in the past.

Knuckles: “Guys? Hello?”

*Static from the binocucom.*

Knuckles: “I’m all alone here… but I must continue doing my job. Now where is that key…”

The manor, which is shaped like a ‘L’, only has access to the northern part by a door to the left and smaller stairs leading up, which are blocked by lasers at the moment. Heading through the door leads us from the entrance hall to a living room, then to a kitchen which has another door blocked by lasers. Defeating the enemies turns off the lasers which let us go upstairs. 

The upstairs in the past is unfinished, with barely enough scaffolding to walk on to reach what appears to be 2 bedrooms on the top of the L, and 2 bedrooms on the right side. One of the bedrooms, blocked by lasers as well, has red goo staining the tub ala Psycho and provides our way back to the present.

Knuckles: “Guys!”

Tails: “Ah! Knuckles! What took you so long?”

Knuckles: “I-I think I was in the past, so the mansion was unfinished.”

Bentley: “The past? I guess that explains why Murray just suddenly vanished too.”

Knuckles: “I hope he’s alright. The past here has scaffolding on the second floor. It’s a good thing I got my claws to dig in the walls instead to climb.”

Tails: “Yeah.”

Knuckles: “I escaped by leaving though some… red goo, I guess. But it had no mass to it.”

Bentley: “That goes with my theory… it could be ectoplasm. The stuff ghosts leave behind when the touch stuff to enter and leave our world.”

Knuckles: “Hmm… our world has Chaos in it… you think it could be mixing with that?”

Tails: “It could, but there is other factors…”

Knuckles: “I’ll let you two thinkers figure it out, I’ll focus on finding that key.”

From here on the second floor bedrooms, fighting our way around, we head downstairs to the present day kitchen, which doesn’t have lasers blocking the door. Outside leads to a patioed garden and pool, and a fence blocking access to what appears to be a huge shed. Once again, green goo blocks another doorway, leading into what looks to be a garage.

In the past, the garage has what appears to be the car part used on the Drill Eggman and Hammer Eggman vehicles and other various attachments that would fit the Egg-Mobiles. Destroying them turns off the lasers that blocked the kitchen and the other garage door, and lets us enter the shed.

Inside the shed are more drills, but the most important thing here is the rickety wood stairs that head down the cliff face. They head down, meeting near the surface of the water where a mine entrance has been made and braced up.

*Bentley and Tails finally patch in during the walk.*

Bentley: “Okay! Thanks to Murray, we got this figured out! Now we can talk in the past!”

Knuckles: “Phew, heh, it feels nice to not be so alone. It’s creepy here and it’s not even all that scary.”

Tails: “Being alone is the true scare factor. Murray just got the second key.”

Knuckles: “Awesome! And I think I’m close!”

Bentley: “Just be careful. Murray had to fight a skeleton.”

Knuckles: “A skeleton?”

By this time, we reach an open area with many tunnels branching out. After a few steps in, the ground shakes and rumbles, as dirt falls and claws appear from the hole, showing a big skeleton.

Knuckles: “HOLY CHAOS!!!”

*The skeleton roars, pulling out from the ground. It has 3 large claws on each of its hands and feet, looking like mole limbs from a Madmole. It has the head of a Grounder, complete with drill nose. The rest of the body is of a badger, strong enough to take the hits of rocks and other hard objects.*

Sonic butts in: “NOT A BADGER!!! RUN, YA KNUCKLE HEAD! They eat us for breakfast!!”

Knuckles: “You don’t gotta tell me twice!!! AHHH!!!!”

**MINI-BOSS: EGG BADGER MOLE**

The badger, as stated by Sonic, is the predator to hedgehogs, and Knuckles is just close enough in the small critter linage to be its prey too. It’s big, it’s got sharp points, and it wants us… we gotta run! It’ll chase us down the tunnels it made, and hurt us if we go too slow. Once in an open area, it stands up and starts swiping with its claws and digging up the earth, creating earthen shock waves that can throw us around, possibly right into it. It’s one of the most dangerous foes Eggman has made, and its defeat is no small feat. With all the shockwaves it’s making, rocks fall down, and some sink into the ground instead of breaking. Grab those and toss them at the monster to dent the claws and drills and soon break them off for good with enough damage. With more of the chase and rocks hitting it, it will finally become scraps of metallic bone.

*With its destruction, something gets spat out and lands in Knuckles hands.*

Knuckles: “Whoa! I defeated it and it gave me something!”

*It was a skull, encased in red jewels, with purple gems for the eyes.*

Bentley: “It’s the 3rd and final key! We have them all!”

Knuckles: “Awesome! Now I just have to escape the past, and I’ll be on my way!”

After heading up the stairs and through the house again, red goo has appeared at the front doors. The ghosts have probably taken pity on us, letting us return outside in the manor gardens and letting us leave through the gate to finish the mission.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Knuckles juggles around the key before displaying it in victory.*

\-----

**The Monster Mash**

  * Free the spirits.



Carmelita leaves the safehouse and makes her way through the gates into the cemetery where her mission starts.

Carmelita: “I see those cages. It looks like I can overload them with electrical shock to their exposed batteries, correct?”

Tails: “It seems to be so, but I can’t understand all that extra poles and wires on them. They make no sense from a design standpoint.”

Carmelita: “I have a feeling we’re about to find out.”

We fire a shot at the batteries, and the charge is immediately sent to the poles like they were lightning rods, and send the charges down the wires to gravestones they are wrapped around. The shock heads down into the graves, blasting out some bones and creating skeleton guards and De-bots that we have to defeat.

Carmelita: “Whoa! Talk about Frankenstein’s monster! They came out when I zapped the cage!”

Bentley: “It sounds and looks like you tripped the failsafe in case lightning hits the cages, so it does something useful instead of opening the cages.”

Tails: “Oooh… so those are lightning rods and metallic wire, ingenious. Too bad it’s going to make overloading them nearly impossible.”

Carmelita: “Not quite… I think I have an idea.”

Since the wires are wrapped around graves, it seems like a smart idea to smash them with hard stomps, and this fox cop is known for her high jumps, so it’s time to turn them on the graves. With her Super Jump ( **R1** , then  **X** ), press  **Square** at the top to make her perform an Olympic gymnasts’ worthy finishing stomp on them. They’ll either break, or be cracked a lot, meaning one more hit will destroy them. With all of their destruction, the wires snap back to the cages and wrap around it, eliminating the grounding issue. Also, it turns the whole thing into a Faraday cage, making all of the shock pistol shots blasted anywhere go straight to the battery and overload it in 3 hits, blowing them to bits and freeing the ghosts.

*The ghosts, which are the Hyudoros, pumpkin ghosts, Boom Boos and more, dance around Carmelita and shake her hand. She felt a thought form in her mind.*

Carmelita: “The ghosts are thanking me, and say they are willing to help us in whatever they ask.”

Bentley: “Tell them we might need their help in the operation to stop Mz. Ruby.”

Carmelita: “They hear. And are willing.”

Tails: “Nice. Better free the rest now.”

With the destruction of the rest of the cages and 3 more cages, the mission is complete as the ghosts dance and hide.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Carmelita pretend fires at targets in the air before blowing on the top of her pistol in victory.*

\-----

**Operation Intermission**

*A stock photo of Little Planet over Never Lake (That looks remarkably like Sonic CD artwork) appearing comes on the first slide.*

Bentley: “I‘ve checked the math, we’re not going to make it in time to stop Mz. Ruby before the planet appears. But, with careful planning, we can stop her before it’s too late.”

*The slide changes to the Time Stones.*

Tails: “This is our goal, everyone. We need to gather the Time Stones up before Mz. Ruby has the chance to go back in time and mess with the past.”

*The slide changes to a picture of the Time Warp Plates spinning and reading the Past and Future signs.*

Bentley: “We’re not entirely sure how the planet will react to us, or the guards gathering the Time Stones, but we can only assume this will not make it any easier on us. We’re just going to have to work together on keeping up with the changes. The ghosts will keep the Stones safe as long as they can, but they promised us about 5 minute time limits at most to keep them safe.”

*Mz. Ruby is shown as the last slide.*

Bentley: “Once we get back, Mz. Ruby is sure to attack us, so everyone better be on their toes, ready to attack and keep away the Stones. After that, we can snag the Purple Emerald from her grasp.”


	25. Episode 6: Black Magic Crocodile: Operation Time Trip through Conclusion

**Operation: Time Trip**

  * Find Mz. Ruby.
  * Collect the 7 Time Stones.



With the whole gang in tow, we control Sly and make our way over to the doors of Mz. Ruby’s hideout. At the peaks of dawn, sparkles start to appear in the sky, and reflect the yellow sunlight into the purples and pinks of the color spectrum, signaling Little Planet’s soon arrival. It dissipates all the shadows, save for the ones around the mausoleum which don’t look natural at all. From the windows, yellow eyes watch in wait. We insert the 3 keys into the door, and it creaks open wide, using the colors from before still.

Mz. Ruby: “Ah, Sly Cooper and company! You’re too late! The planet’s about here and we’re about to grab its riches! But still, just try to make it through! HAH HA HA!!!”

The place comes alive with tree roots swaying and smacking, skulls attacking and fires spitting hot coals along with the guard presence, which is oddly light. The floor also slides and moves around like it were conveyor belts to the traps. It’s a bit tough, but plenty of jumping and dodging should work enough to reach the altar area where Mz. Ruby is.

Mz. Ruby: “I’m sorry, BUT YA TOO LATE!”

*Little Planet appears in the skylight above and a black chain forms from an anchor on the altar floor to the planet, locking it in place. From the shadows of the mausoleum, which there is a lot of, black masses leave through the skylight and fly to the planet.*

Mz. Ruby: “I dare ya to get those Time Stones before my minions can! Ya better be quick, because you’ll be dead if I even catch a single one!”

Sonic: “You’re on, croc! See ya in the shortest while of your life!” *He immediately runs up the chain.”

*The others end up caught in a red light to their surprise.*

Mz. Ruby: “Gullible hedgehog! You know I’ll be here to swipe them back! And as for you 6, why not help him?”

*She warps them to the planet at the same time Sonic arrives after a fade.*

Bentley: “Well, she’s not the wiser to our plan. But I’m worried of her skills that she may have developed since then.”

Sonic: “We can take her, I know it.”

Sly: “Then I guess we should split up to grab the Time Stones?”

Tails: “Yeah, it’s the best idea. We should get going.” *They all split to the different Rounds.*

Bentley is offered the easiest area to go through, Palmtree Panic, but it’s not all well here. Little Planet has chosen the Bad Future for the turtle, which makes the green paradise a dead purple and brown. With it comes the dangers of the floating platforms falling as soon as he lands on them, so he has to keep moving. Keep out of the bottom of the stage as the purple, toxic water slows us down possibly enough to let the Stone be collected. Once it’s collected, the Round turns to a good future and Bentley warps away with the Purple Time Stone.

Knuckles gets sent to the crazy pinball-like land that is Collision Chaos and it seems fate has given him the Past version of the Round, where it is all rocky. The only issues to run into is the time taken to climb and dig around. There are also more badniks around, but they don’t have to be defeated. The Round turns to a good future when the Green Time Stone is collected and Knuckles gets warped away.

Murray dips his feet into the waterlogged ruins of Tidal Tempest and he ends up in the aquarium that is the Good Future of the round. Currents and fans will blow the hippo around in any and all directions, but paying close attention to the bubbles will point us to the helpful guiding waters straight to the Blue Time Stone.

Tails heads into the cramped mines of Quartz Quadrant Round in the dangerous Present, where the mining equipment is active, causing a lot of rocks to fall on unexpecting heads. The conveyor belts are also wildly changing directions, making traversing much harder. At least there is still enough space to perform a bit of aerial feats to capture the Yellow Time Stone and move on.

Carmelita finds herself bounced and spun around in the Good Future of Wacky Workbench. The round isn’t too difficult to make through, though being flung high into the air can make for unexpected hits into guards and badniks. Just watch out for the electrical surges that hurt more than they look. At the end, the fox cop finds the Red Time Stone to take her back.

Sonic once again revists the recurring Stardust Speedway with its musical flairs and starry skies. He too is offered the blissful Good Future. Just keep on moving fast among the crazy curves, loops and tubes to find the Cyan Time Stone at the end.

Sly finds that Little Planet has it out to get him as Metallic Madness first starts in its past incarnation, with plenty of construction equipment for a thief to climb around on before it drops him in quite a literal sense off in the Bad Future. Everything is rusted and disappearing under our feet. Just keep on being quick and using the working machines to snag up the Orange Time Stone.

With it’s collection, Sly is the last one to be warped and ends up with the others… right in front of Mz. Ruby.

Mz. Ruby: “I tricked all of you! I knew you were going to gather the stones for me!”

Sonic: “Yeah, we figured, but now it’s 7 against one, croc!”

Mz. Ruby: “Ah-ah-ah! Remember that I also got this!” *She shows the Purple Emerald.* “And this is going to boost my magic to things you aint ever seen before!” 

*She starts running down the twisted halls, chanting magic.*

\-----

**Boss: Mz. Ruby**

  * Defeat Mz. Ruby.



Sly ends up on the move after the croc, chasing her among the attacking tree branches when she stops suddenly and turns around.

Mz. Ruby: “Hey, Sly! Think fast!”

*She blasts black magic in front of her, and shadows from around the area converge to one being… a doppelganger of Sly in jet black shadow.*

Bentley: “Sly, stop!”

Sly: “Why? Isn’t it just a shadow?”

Bentley: “No! It’s a doppelganger! It’s going to copy what you do! If you touch it, you die!”

Mz. Ruby laughs: “That turtle’s right you know! It’s made to copy your moves and kills you on contact! You can’t stop it! HAH HA HA!!!”

Sly: “You’re wrong, Ruby. I maybe can’t do it, but someTHING else can.”

Mz. Ruby has summoned a scary shadow double that will copy every move we do. It makes hitting them impossible and contact with the shadow is an instant kill. But, it’s not fully exact, requiring a second to perform the same action, which will leads to the shadow’s downfall. The traps are mirrored over the same hall area, which means if we walk over a trap right before it activates, it will hurt the shadow, and Mz. Ruby because it is her magic. 4 hits in total will dissipate the magic.

Mz. Ruby: “Darn it!”

Since her magic broke, she’s dazed, so hurry over and give her a smack, but watch for her tail making shockwaves along the ground. Hitting her sends her along to the next trap area.

Mz. Ruby: “Ah! You won’t be so lucky next shadow!”

Her next shadow she calls ends up being Sonic’s, who’s quite the fast bugger. Thankfully, he’s about as genius as the real thing, so make him hit a wall like Sonic would, face planting and getting hurt by a tree branch. A ghost will keep Sonic safe but let fake Sonic get hurt. A homing attack will make easy work of Mz. Ruby’s next hit point.

Sonic: “I really dislike that I’m so easily made fake.”

Mz. Ruby: “Well, too bad, hero!”

Her next shadow is of Carmelita, who fires black gunshots in any form of retaliation, meaning being quick on our toes. Any trap should be useful on Carmelita’s double, especially those Carmelita can hop away from at the last moment. And of course, a simple shock will hurt Mz. Ruby when she’s vulnerable.”

Carmelita: “Looks like I’m adding ‘Impersonating an Officer’ to your long list of crimes.”

Mz. Ruby: “It was worth it to show your utter patheticness!”

Next up is Knuckles, who might have the just as hard-headed shadow. Just lead the shadow into the traps and it will soon be defeated and Mz. Ruby gets a well earned punch down the hall.

Knuckles: “Hey! I’m not that stupid-looking!”

Mz. Ruby: “Have you looked in a mirror recently?! Hah!”

Sonic: “I told ya, Knuckles, heh.”

Knuckles: “WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?!”

Murray follows along, and his is made easier by simply tossing guards at the shadow Murray to hurt it.

Tails dealings with his own doppelganger can simply be remedied by making them walk into an enemy to hurt them.

And finally, with Bentley, his too must be rolled into traps to defeat them. Bombing them will only make them throw a deadly shadow bomb back with deadly accuracy. Bentley delivers the final hurt on Mz. Ruby.

Mz. Ruby: “NO!!! I was supposed to succeed this time! How were my predictions so wrong?!”

Bentley: “Maybe you should have used a bit more science in your black magic. And besides, nothing is ever certain if you don’t know all the facts. Now, you got something we need.”

*One of his mechanical arms dig through her satchel and he pulls out the Purple Emerald, and gets sent away in a purple flash of light.*

\-----

**The** **Purple Emerald** **’s Mentalism**

  * Defeat Paper Arpeggio / The Ascension to find the Purple Emerald.



*Bentley appears in a flash of purple lightning and takes a look at his surroundings. Around him is the interior paneling of a purple blimp, surrounded by machines and shadows.*

Bentley: “Huh? It’s too dark. I can’t see where I am…”

???: “Perhaps this might help you remember where you are.”

*The lights turn on, and the shadows change to being the paper frozen metal body of Clockwerk and a paper Arpeggio on his mobile bird cage.*

Bentley: “Arpeggio… but how?”

Paper Arpeggio: “You already know how. The why on your mind is because you are a worthless, good for nothing idiot!”

Bentley: “Says the bird who was betrayed so easily by a conniving tiger.”

Paper Arpeggio: “SHE…” *He seethes, but cools off* “..isn’t here now… In this scenario, I was the smarter one and easily disposed of her.”

*Her paper corpse, partially shadowed to hide the damage, is in the background.*

Bentley: “W-what? B-but how?”

Paper Arpeggio: “FOOL! A stupid question! I told you, I was the one who expected who betrayal here, and KILLED HER!”

Bentley: “N-no…”

Paper Arpeggio: “Yes! And I’m coming for you next!”

*The jaw of the paper Clockwerk opens and Paper Arpeggio climbs down from his perch.*

Paper Arpeggio: “Ah, and this was all thanks to you, remember? Your stupid plan of demagnetizing my blimp worked the wrong way and put the parts in place.”

Bentley: “I-It did… didn’t it…”

Paper Arpeggio hops in: “So watch now, as I become one with the bird to become…”

*The jaw shuts and the eyes turn cyan in color.*

The fused Paper Clockwerk and Paper Arpeggio speak together: “THE ASCENSION!!!”

*With a kick from their talons, we are swung over into the panel of the next page, which is of the Crow’s nest of Arpeggio’s big blimp.*

Panel #1: The Crow’s Nest

The Ascension: “You’re a pathetic turtle who can’t stop this powerful mind! Cower before us!”

Bentley: “N-no… I must refuse… Come on Bentley, think.”

The Ascension: “Thinking will get you nowhere, useless turtle! Remember this skin is invincible!”

Bentley: “Was it…?”

While the Paper Clockwerk sweeps back and forth along the crow’s nest, pointed out by danger arrows before he flies by, a clear point of attack comes from the center pole. After flying by a few times, the pole becomes damaged enough to have bombs knock it down right onto The Ascension. It hits the metallic forehead of the bird, making it crack apart.

The Ascension: “Lucky shot, you stupid turtle! But you’re doomed!”

*The Ascension speeds around and slams through the paper leading into the panels below, and we end up getting tilted into the second panel.*

Panel #2: The Left Thruster

The Ascension: “You’ve been a pathetic weakling your whole entire life, and can’t do anything for yourself. You have to rely on Sly and Murray to do all the work for you!”

Bentley thinks, trying to ignore him: “I can’t believe him… hmm… the thrusters don’t look very strong at all.”

Here, Bentley has to dodge the Ascension as it comes from the background to the foreground while he bombs the thruster enough to fly off and hit the bird on the left wing, cracking it.

Bentley: “I seem to remember your bio saying that you were worthlessly small too.”

The Ascension growls: “I’m clearly not NOW!!!”

*We are forced to hop ship to the nearby upper panel to a very big fan as the Ascension slams on the wing to knock it off.*

Panel #3: The Upper Rotor

*The Ascension lands right behind us.*

The Ascension: “I’ll change my approach and crush you myself! You’ve never fought someone like me up CLOSE!!!”

*Bentley thinks as he runs* “I gotta run and bomb him. I hope it works.”

The Ascension changes tactics and chases us around the center ring around the fan blade keeping this blimp hovering. However, with enough bombing, the bird can be knocked off balance into the helicopter blade and both break it and damage the chest area of the bird.

Bentley: “I know what my strengths are, so I don’t have to fight up close if I don’t need to, that’s why I have a team!”

The Ascension: “Bah, having friends is WORTHLESS!”

We quickly make a stage right exit to the other thruster.

Panel #4: The Right Thruster

The Ascension: “You can’t trust anyone to be your friend, especially in your line of work! Everyone is out to get you, foe or friend!”

*Bentley thinks* “I got to break this one the same way.”

Similar to what happened in Panel #2, we’re blasting off the right thruster right into the right wing of the Ascension as it sweeps back and forth again.

Bentley: “Perhaps, but with our common bonds, we CAN trust each other, unlike the bridges you burn.”

*The Ascension screeches.*

With that destruction, we head down to the other fan.

Panel #5: The Lower Rotor

The Ascension: “Of course you would, because your friends are pathetic and worthless, stupid and gullible! They are worth less than you!”

As in Panel #3, we’re chased by the Ascension and we got to run and dodge it and trip it over into the other fan rotor, which breaks apart the tail feathers and talons of the bird.

Bentley: “My friends I KNOW I can trust, and are certainly leagues ahead of your Klaww Gang. They were defeated by us, so that should say who’s superior.”

The Ascension: “GAH!!! DIE, you stupid turtle!”

With The Ascension all cracked up, it tackles us through to the failing engine room.

Panel #6: The Engine Room

The Ascension: “I am vastly superior in every field while you would get barely passing marks! How can you even call yourself a genius?”

With the Clockwerk and Arpeggio in broken pieces, it’s time to finish them off  by using the computers in the alcoves of the engine room to work the machinery against The Ascension. Smack it with the machines enough to finally leave the bird a shattered heap of metal, losing power.

The Ascension: “B-but how?! I was the more powerful, the more superior intellect! I was supposed to win!”

Bentley: “You would… if this was only a game of brains. I may not be the smartest guy ever, but I am the strategist and planner of my group. I pay attention to what’s around me and my friends and use it to our advantage.”

Paper Arpeggio: “N-no!”

Bentley: “Oh yeah. So maybe you’re a genius and the master of everything, it will never compare to our group’s ingenuity to take down powerful foes like you. As I heard it said, it’s lonely at the top.”

Paper Arpeggio: “NO!!!!”

*The Ascension blows up and reveals it was running on the Purple Emerald, which flies out and comes to Bentley, finishing the job and the world.* 

**JOB COMPLETE** *Bentley juggles the Purple Emerald around his mechanical arms and it lands on his lap and he holds it up.*

\-----

**Conclusion** :

*With Bentley’s return in a flash of purple, a dazed Mz. Ruby gets carried and tossed into an awaiting G.U.N. truck to be driven away.*

Sly, narrating: “With the return of our turtle with the Purple Emerald, we got Mz. Ruby thrown right into the awaiting G.U.N. truck to be hauled off to jail.”

*The gang checks out the 6 Emeralds in their possession, and Sly is the only one without a gem in hand. A ghostly form of the White Emerald flickers in his hand.*

Sly, narrating: “Looking at what we had, it was quite a surprise to see that everyone was in possession of a Chaos Emerald they had snatched from someone and from a Special Stage… except of the jewel thief meister, me. With the colors, Tails deduced that all we were missing was the White Emerald.”

*Time passes ahead as they fly ahead in the Tornado, the Miles Electric silent, until night falls.*

Sly, narrating: “But now we encountered a new problem. The Miles Electric was not signaling any form of the White Emerald and over the course of the day, we probably scoured a lot of the planet. Even G.U.N. reported no new sightings of Eggman’s lackeys or our villains, not that there would be if Carmelita’s hints from the Red Emerald were correct.”

*As night falls and the stars twinkle, a magical dust sprinkles onto them and they fall asleep. The Tornado, with no active passagers awaken, turns on autopilot and slowly glides down off screen to earth.*

Sly, narrating: “As night fell and the stars appeared in the sky, a weird powder flew into our faces.”

Tails: “Whoa! What was that?”

Sonic yawns: “I-I don’t know… but I feel sleepy all of a sudden…”

Carmelita yawns: “D-does that mean we’re… gonna crash?”

Tails, nearly asleep: “N-no… the plane will… land…”

Sly, narrating: “Before we know it, we were all asleep and drifting away to an assumed dreamland.”


	26. Episode 7: Nightmare in Maginary Land: Introduction through Job 1

**Introduction** :

*Sly awakens in a black void with nothing going on until a bright light appears and a fairy comes out of it, to his surprise.*

Sly, narrating: “When I awoke, I found myself alone in a black void. I could only assume I was sleeping from what happened, but why was I stuck here, in nothingness. At least, before I could go too crazy, a bright light appeared in front of me and out came what I assumed was a fairy, at least according to our tales in books.”

*The fairy, Lumina Flowlight, introduces herself and explains with pictures from her dust that she had brought them into this land to help her. Explaining she is one half of a greater deity, she and the dark side have been split forcibly by Dr. Eggman and the Void is being used to destroy the dreams of everyone except Eggman’s.*

Sly, narrating: “The fairy started to speak in a soft, calming tone.”

Lumina: “I’m sorry for such the surprise sleep spell, but I had to do it because I am in dire need of your help. I am Lumina Flowbright, a fairy filled with hope and happiness of every creature from every universe who dreams. However, I am only one half of a whole deity who got split apart. My dark side, whose name is Void, was ripped away by the terrible Dr. Eggman with a ruby of a sinister power and he is being used to destroy this world, which we call Maginary Land, except for his own.”

Sly: “That’s… terrible!”

*The fairy continues and says that since she was split much more forcibly than expected, everyone got split up and now Sly is forced to head though the imaginary world to find his friends and save Void from the doctor. Sly offers his assistance, but gestures to the black world.*

Lumina: “I’m sorry you’re here by yourself. I was much more weakened than expected and your friends got scattered along the way. You’ll have to enter their dreams to recruit them and work with them to save Void. He’s being used against his will and certainly doesn’t want to do what he’s about to do.”

Sly: “Don’t worry. I’m here to help. But, um… all I’m seeing is black. What do we do?”

*Lumina points to Sly’s mind, suggesting he just think up a happy place. Instantly, he creates an image of Paris, which forms around them to provide a walkway for them to traverse along. With smiles, they head off to find Sly’s friends.*

Lumina: “Just think up a location that makes you happy and that you know really well, and it will appear around us.”

Sly, narrating: “I thought up Paris, my favorite place in the world, and in no time at all, it formed all around us, as we stood underneath the Eiffel Tower.”

Lumina: “Oooh, beautiful location. Now, come on! Let’s go find your friends!”

Sly, narrating: “With my new fairy friend, we head out onto the streets in search of my team.”

Sly Cooper, his Gang, and Team Sonic in…

*From complete darkness, the words of the title card eerily glow in as the backdrop of Paris appears: ‘ **Nightmare In Maginary Land** ‘.*

\-----

**Hub Layout** :

Maginary Land, as expected, is a dream world where anything can happen, which means it is formed from the memories of Sly and the rest of the gang. Taking up the north and west side where we are is the middle of Paris, right at the Eiffel Tower, right down the street of it being Sly and Lumina’s well-furnished safehouse.. The streets from it build into the bustling city and the river close by, along with other Paris landmarks, taking up most of the northern and western sides of the world. Sly’s part of Paris is bluer and looks similar to its Sly 2 version. Bentley’s is more green and high tech, to the point of most everything being digitized and sometimes even in a computer grid. His is also filled with art museums. Carmelita’s is more orange and protected with plenty of cops. It also has a large Interpol/Police Headquarters to infiltrate. Murray’s has a more pinkish tint and has streets turned into race courses, with plenty of restaurants and in the center of it all is a stadium that is claiming a wrestling event is occuring.

In difference, on the eastern side, the world is much more abstracted and less form fitting. Where Paris ends, a desert crops up with rocky plateaus,, canyons, cactuses, and sand. Going around through it all are silver trains, train tracks, and train stations. The bullet fast trains speed their way to and through a high tech city and a Mayan Jungle. With the blue dash panels, this place is clearly Sonic’s dream area and he rests upon one of the bullet trains. The high tech city, which looks like a futuristic Station Square, is filled with automated machines and transport tubes leading all over. Above, plenty of Tornados fly around both as a ride along and as protection. Yellow Air Rings tell us this is Tails’ dream area, providing extra air for non-flyers too. A large workshop with Tails’ sign on it tells us where he rests. Furthest southeast, the city changes for jungles that are filled with lots of greenery and trees. Hidden within the jungles are Mayan-esque stone temples with large underground halls that connect to each other. A river flows around the outer edges to complete the place. Breakable walls are marked with a red tint along with the red clay ground, and Knuckles sleeps deep within the biggest temple.

Rounding out the southern side of the world is Eggman’s dream, and it’s just as twisted as its creator. Protected by a tall stone wall and an iron gate, the inside is a literal circus of deadly attractions. Ferris wheel boulders, deadly items in circus tents and killer games are just a taste of the Eggman carnage going on. Everything has Eggman’s insignia upon it, with laser-eyed statues making things worse. With the bleak shades of grey desaturating everything, nothing looks nice to see. Hidden within the largest tent lies the sleeping Eggman. In the central area connecting all 8 smaller worlds, stands a humongous temple among a labyrinth of a star filled road. Void, in his most monstrous form, gives chase if we step within its boundaries, making crossing there unadvisable.

**Enemies** :

  * **Detective Shepard** : Since Carmelita wouldn’t act too convinced of the other guards and badniks acting as cops, she gets two special made guards to encroach on her dreams to watch over her, but work for Eggman. The first is of german shepherds, dressed in brown trench coats of private detectives. Since they are investigators, they have a larger search box that Sly could accidentally step in and alert them, unless they’re sleeping. Their attack is a grabbing bite and toss and from afar, they pull out a pistol and shoot shots fairly fast, but predictably. Being sneaky is key to getting them. They carry or drop 17-19 rings and can be pickpocketed for an extra medium treasure sometimes.
  * **Sargent Clydesdale** : Finally, our first horse guard, and it ends up being a high ranking officer of the law. They’re quite large and imposing, meant to look tough as they actually are. They carry flashlights for spotting thieves on their shoulders and also have a fair bit larger alert radius. As the saying goes, don’t even get close as they’ll do a handstand and kick hard with their back legs, hurting hard and flying us far. They also fire tasers to shock and subdue thieves from afar. Either knock them out first or run far away. They carry or drop 18-20 rings and can be pickpocketed for an extra large treasure sometimes.
  * **Bandit Girl** : A mix of two monsters that rode the Riot Train, with the base critter being a coyote. From long range, she pulls out dual pistols and fires bullets in a spray. At close range, she pulls out ropes to try and lasso us. If she succeeds, it leaves us susceptible to guards or bullets. Escape is possible by jumping around until the ropes loosen off. They carry or drop 16-18 rings and can be pickpocketed for an extra small treasure sometimes.
  * **Rounded** : Starry sky monsters that come from 4th Dimensional Space. Annoyingly big guards with spindly arms that swing around to attack. It can float around high and low, so height is not an escape. The arms aren’t too difficult to avoid, but its difficulty comes from the shells it has. The outer four panels are interdimensional, and hurt to organic touch, so tossing things are the way to go to break those. Then it has two cones protecting it that don’t hurt but require a few hits to destroy. Revealing its weak monster center leads to a quick demise. They drop 16 rings.
  * **Naga** : Based off the orange snakes from the Nature Zone, with a humanoid torso and ape head and arms from the other two monsters from the area. It slithers around looking for prey, climbing up buildings with its hands. Combat with them involves punches with their fists, made worse with the spike wristbands adding extra damage length. Back or ranged attacks are the best option on these guys. They carry or drop 17-19 rings and can be pickpocketed for an extra medium treasure sometimes.
  * **Surfboard Yeti** : Created from the high snowy mountains of Ice Cap, and coming from the Emerald Coast freeze dream, these flashlight guards are totally radical surfers, brah. Though, what’s not so cool is when they literally toss their boards from afar and hit us if we don’t escape the shadow. They’re usually quick to grab them by warping straight to it. Close-quarter fighting involves swinging the board around with painful results for us. They carry or drop 18-20 rings and can be pickpocketed for an extra large treasure sometimes.
  * **Buzz Copter** : Eggman finally remember the robots he saw from the Firebird dream, and quickly got to work redesigning his Buzzers. Now they are built with a copter on their back instead of wings, which means they won’t stop attacking after firing a bullet. They also fire bullets a bit faster too. Drops 18 rings when smashed.
  * **Torph** : Eggman’s redesigned forms of the Torpedo monsters. They fly around aimlessly in the sky until they sense a heat signature in their range, marked by green cones from their eyes. Attacking it is ill-advised as it will blow up on contact with anything unless hit on the back side, which is hard to hit. Drops 18 rings when smashed.
  * **Frenchie Paw** n: Hoh hoh hohn! Look at his cute beret and snazzy clothes. Le badniks come equipped with ze baguettes that are stale, and use them as fencing swords, which hurt. Drops 19 rings when smashed.
  * **Hacker Pawn** : The usual Pawn dressed in a sleek black suit and wears sunglasses at night. It’s a really fast physical attacker, meaning it will block most attacks unless conquered. From afar, they’ll send ‘code’ shots that will reverse movement if it connects.  Drops 19 rings when smashed.
  * **Cop Pawn** : Kinda ironic that an illegal pawn is working as a legal profession. Comes equipped with a gun for long range attacks and a baton for short range fighting. Don’t get too close or they’ll handcuff the player, which requires some wiggling to escape from. Drops 19 rings when smashed.
  * **Vendor Pawn** : Don’t ask these guys for hot dogs, their taste is awful. They use ketchup and mustard shots as their fighting method, which hurt when they connect. They also like spraying it on the floor around them since it’s also slippery to walk on. Drops 19 rings when smashed.
  * **Cactus Pawn** : Well, at least they’ve been made more dangerous. Covered in needles makes bodily attacks impossible. Ranged attacks or weapons is advised to break them. Drops 19 rings when smashed.
  * **Mechanic Pawns** : Would these robots work on themselves to repair their damage, or is that the bishop’s job? Aw well. They swing their big wrenches as their attack and toss smaller wrenches from a distance. Drops 19 rings when smashed.
  * **Mayan Pawns** : Fitting to the jungle and temple them, they are covered in war paint and wear nothing but a loincloth. *Shrugs* Not that it matters when they are pretty good with their spears, twirling and spinning them at close range, and throwing them from afar. Drops 19 rings when smashed.
  * **Showman Pawn** : Dapper badniks dressed in bigtop showman clothes and a top hat. Their cane is useful for attack, but their magic comes with summoning other badniks and guards out of nowhere. Definitely put these guys on the kill list first. Drops 19 rings when smashed.
  * **Rhino Train** : The Rhinotank’s bigger and badder robot brother. If there is a choo-choo coming, RUN!!! It will barrel down whatever straightaway it is rolling on to charge us over like a... well, freight train. It can be stunned if it hits a wall during the charge, which can let us get on the back of it and break its batteries. Watch out as it will explode as a final attack so run from that too. Drops 20 rings when it explodes.
  * **Egg Wrestler** : INTRODUCING, THE HEAVYWEIGHT, CHAMPIONS OF THE DREAM WORLD, EGG WRESTLERS!!! Okay, it’s actually just Egg Hammers, minus the hammer and a colorful paint job instead of drab purple. Their signature move is jumping and belly-flopping right onto us, ouch. In the ring, they’ll also bounce along ropes to charge us. Like the regular Egg Hammers, hit them hard to knock them over and wail on them to defeat them, their head being the weakest spot. Drops 20 rings when smashed.
  * **Egg Bishop / Magician** : For a non-attacking robot, these guys are dangerous, wrapped in a more colorful bishop and magician cloths. The Egg Bishop keeps all badniks and guards in the area healed and unbreakable. And the Egg Magician keeps drawing up circles to both steal loot and health, though it won’t kill us. Better make sure these guys die first in a group.  Drops 20 rings when smashed.



Treasures:

From Guards:

  * _Small Pearl_ : Worth 70 rings.
  * _Medium Pearl_ : Worth 80 rings.
  * _Large Pearl_ : Worth 90 rings.



On Pedestals:

  * _A Bag of Force Jewels:_ A velvet, silky bag filled with a rainbow of gems. Try not to get hit while carrying it back, since it can do literally anything to double the damage done to the player and more… Hiding in Sonic’s dream in a train station. Worth 350 rings.



  * _Golden Interpol Badge_ : The lifelong dream of all hard-working Interpol agents is to be awarded this badge made of solid gold. Carmelita might be really wanting this, though perhaps she wants to get it on her own terms? Found on the roof of the Interpol building. Worth 400 rings.

  * _Star Chunk_ : So, star chunks, huh? The danger of getting it comes from wandering into Void’s area in the first place with his patrol. Worth 1200 rings before Void is saved, 600 rings after.




~~Jobs~~

**Computer Crashing**

  * Enter the Art Museum.
  * Solve the puzzles to wake up Bentley.



*Sly leaves the safehouse and the mission quickly starts with Lumina appearing.*

Lumina: “Off to rescue your friends now?”

Sly: “Yep. We can’t save Void or stop Eggman without them. Though, I wonder if I can save these guys without Bentley’s careful watch. I’ve never really went this far alone.”

Lumina: “I’m sure you can, besides, this is your dream creation, you can do whatever you want.”

Sly: “True, and with my skills, most anything is possible. Let’s go then.”

With the dream world’s sky a continuous night, the time is right to get to thieving to get Sly’s friends awake here. Our first job here is to stir the brains of the gang from his digital dream. So, it’s off down the streets of Paris, dodging guards and badniks as we sneak our way southwest. The buildings are a useful way to go, but some street crossing is in order. Near to Bentley’s dream area, the wide river prevents further access.

Lumina: “Hey, there’s no bridges? Why did you forget them?”

Sly: “Huh? I swore I did. Do you think Eggman deleted them when he saw it was created?”

Lumina: “I wouldn’t put it past him, according to Sonic. So how are we going to get across?”

Sly: “You did say this was my dream world. Maybe I can fix it temporarily. I wonder.”

A search of the nearby area finds us a patch of blue sparkles on a small grass field near the river.

Sly: “Hmm, I wonder if I press the **O button** here.”

Pressing the **O Button** brings up docking poles that spread across the river to the other side. Hurry across them with ninja spire jumps, as they last only for 45 seconds before falling back underwater.

Sly: “Phew, made it.”

Lumina: “Did you really give yourself that hard of a challenge?”

Sly: “It wasn’t really hard for me, but I didn’t put in that time limit. I think Eggman messed with it.”

Lumina: “Well, we’re near your friend’s dream now. Be a bit careful, even if you are a friend, they do have defenses to keep their minds safe from influence in certain ways.”

Sly: “You mean like don’t cause too much of a ruckus and wake them up in real life?’

Lumina: “Kinda like that, yeah.”

Sly: “So I just not alert their defenses too much, just like every day. This’ll be a snap.”

Continuing on from the river into Bentley’s part of dream Paris, the buildings become modern, taller, and sleeker shaped and look to be digitally created from blocks. Climbing onto them requires using the telephone poles or the fire escapes or more mental requirements, as will be mentioned later, by using the blue sparkles. Our next waypoint is of a large art museum, which is guarded by enemies.

Lumina: “I sense your friend is in here, but it seems the enemy has guarded the place to prevent entry.”

Sly: “Only of conventional means. For a master thief, the fun is finding an unconventional way inside.”

Lumina: “I trust you will, hence why I had you be the prominent one I bring.”

Sly: “Now… let’s see.”

Sneaking around to the back side of the museum shows that there are many windows and gutters near the roof. Some blue sparkles are nearby, which, with use, makes ledges, drain pipes, and pushed out bricks. Hurry up in 1:15 seconds, or fall back to the ground below. On the roof, an open skylight leads down into the museum.

The art museum looks to be made mostly out of marble in its columns and ceilings, and the floor a black and white checkered tile. As one would expect in museum security, guards patrol the halls, lasers block the exhibits and breaking any of the exhibits usually starts the alarms. In here, a 3 strike system is put in place. If Sly causes the alarms to go off 3 times before he wakes his friend, the mission ends in failure because their friend got woken prematurely.

Not far from where we’ve entered, Bentley can be found sleeping in a well-protected exhibit under a metallic cage, further protected by a laser cage.

Lumina: “Oh my. Your friend has much security protecting him.”

Sly: “Heh, no surprise. He could hack most things in his sleep. This isn’t overkill. However, I bet they weren’t expecting an outside influence to help, so the way to open them is out here.”

To shut off the laser grids, it’s off to head down the laser filled corridor to find what the museum calls ‘The Elusive Dream’ dreamcatcher. It is a huge, wooden dreamcatcher, woven with purple wool. It has large brown feathers that reach all the way to the floor as it hangs from the ceiling. A silver charm ball marks the front of it. It is, in fact, more important to the museum than the name lets on. When in certain positions, it will either turn on or turn off laser grids. Of course, we need to find the one combination that gets Bentley’s shut off, so it’s off to listen to the guards in secret.

Bandit Girl, to a Naga: “What was the way to shut off the west hall lasers? I forgot a keycard over there.”

Naga: “The dream catcher has to be turned to have the charm ball face west.”

A Hacker Pawn, to a Frenchie Pawn: “Darn it, my lucky sunglasses fell behind the lasers over there.”

Frenchie Pawn: “Just turn ze dreamcatcher to ze east, dude. Relax.”

As can be figured, turning it North and South turns off those hall lasers, and tilting it at perfect 45 angles turns off both hall lasers at the same time.

A Surfboard Yeti mutters to himself: “Let’s see, tilting at a 45 degree angle also shuts off the alarms on the artwork. It’s how we were able to get cards on the back of some of them.”

Those cards he mentions are the unlocking devices for the metal cages. Hidden behind 7 pieces of artwork are key cards that look surprisingly like the cards used in Sonic Shuffle, but more updated. Placing them on the metal cage will raise it, with all seven raising it away. Just make sure the lasers are off before then or the alarms will go off, requiring guards to die, or possibly fail the mission. The artwork the key cards hide behind are of Sly and the rest of the gang, and Sonic’s team.

The lasers in the hallways aren’t impossible, but they tend to make more complex patterns that make for some awkward jumping around. Add in the guard patrols makes it much harder, though there are plenty of opportunities to grab wires, hooks, and ledges to get around them all.

With both cages out of the way, just head on over to Bentley to wake him up.

Bentley: “Ooooh… huh? Where am I?”

Sly: “You’re awake, in a combined dream.”

Bentley: “Huh? How is that possible?”

Lumina: “This might take more explaining than I thought…”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sly hugs his turtle friend in victory, while Bentley stands a bit confused.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's no intermission at this point since I couldn't figure out how to make it interesting without it sounding very... vague. It's different to what a Sly Cooper game would do, but it was the best I figured I could give.


	27. Episode 7: Nightmare in Maginary Land: Job 2 through Job 3

**Law and Disorder**

  * Enter the Interpol Station.
  * Awaken Carmelita.



Bentley becomes an added partner who we will play as when the time arrives, but for now, we continue playing as Sly and head back to his dream of Paris. Bridges have finally appeared with the turtle’s awakening, so there’s no need to make more poles here, but on the other side of Sly’s dream, to Carmelita’s area, a new form of transportation is needed will need to be made. Just use a blue sparkle patch on a building near the river, to summon an empty police copter to fly around, that Sly can hook to ride across. [Bentley would ride in the empty section above by just hovering in with his jet-wheelchair.] Along the way…

Sly: “If you don’t mind me asking… could I know a bit more about you and Void?”

Lumina: “Certainly. I’m a fairy, representing the positive emotions people feel. The best way to describe Void would be a sort of nightmare creature, like a demon to put it easiest for you to understand. But he’s not evil, per se, he just encompasses the negative emotions people face that they can put in their dreams.”

Sly: “And you said the two of you combined make a deity?”

Lumina: “Yes. They’re called Illumina, and they are the ruler here that controls everyone’s dreams. They place positive and negative ideas in your dreams, and help to make you a better person. They probably even helped you and your friends.”

Sly: “Oooh… and you don’t remember?”

Lumina: “No, but I’m better than what happened the last time we split apart. I remember this time that Void is my other half and that we need to form together again.”

Sly: “Can you remember the last split?”

Lumina: “Not… at the moment. I think the trauma of the split has messed with me, like how it’s made Void susceptible.”

Sly: “Fair enough. Maybe collecting more of my friends my help you remember?”

Lumina: “It’s possible.”

Sly: “Then we still got our plan.”

Once on Carmelita’s side of Paris, walking on the streets is more unadvised as there is an increased guard presence acting as policemen, along with lots more cop cars that can speed over us. Jumping across roofs is much safer, and leads us right to the roof of Interpol HQ, which is much larger than its Sly 1 counterpart. An open fire escape door lets us enter the top floor.

Inside the police headquarters are the expected offices of detectives, the jail and holding cells, training and workout area, and the high activity front area. As expected for a thief, being caught here is very dangerous, especially to the 3 strike system. However, it only applies if we get caught. Sly can flip one to move guards to inspect the area so he can move on ahead. Just make sure there is an escape route to head towards to avoid being caught.

There are some doors, usually those that lead downstairs, that require key cards, once again the Shuffle cards, to access. They are usually hiding in detective offices, who are sleeping on the job. Try not to wake them as coffee mugs act as tripwires. They usually carry the cards in their hanging jacket, or on their person, so a little pickpocketing is needed.

After making it down two floors, we overlook the metal walkway above the ground floor, where there is a mess of guards on patrol, making going in impossible.

Sly: “This isn't good. I can’t get down there safely.”

Bentley, through dream binocucoms: “Leave that to me, Sly, I’ll get them out of there.”

We head outside, in control of Bentley.

Lumina: “Bentley, is it? How are you going to help your friend?”

Bentley: “If I got it right, I can summon things to change the world, right?”

Lumina: “Yeah, as long as it’s your skill set.”

Bentley: “Then I can hack the alarm stations with my computational powers to call them away and leave the place empty for Sly to sneak through.”

Lumina: “Genius! I see why you’re the brains.”

Using Bentley’s jetpack to keep on top of buildings, we are in search of green sparkles clusters to call up computers near poles that have the alarms for the police station connected to them. Using the binocucom and good eyesight on the wires should make finding where the green sparkles are fairly easy. Activating the sparkles reveals the computers for us to go to a cybernetic version of the dream world… yes, somehow that’s possible, stop asking questions.

The digital dream world makes the streets the crossways, which makes for multiple path choices to find a terminal to enter and start the alarm far away from the police station. As expected, the digital badniks are patrolling and making things dangerous but not impossible for us gamers. In nearly record time, the 3 alarms are set off and the police station lobby ends up a quiet wasteland except for our target, a sleeping Carmelita on the job.

Sly: “Thanks, pal, it’s quiet now.”

Bentley: “Of course, but I’d hurry. I think that will only keep them distracted for 5 minutes.”

Sly: “Plenty of time to awaken sleeping beauty. Perhaps I can make some coffee.”

Carmelita is quite the deep sleeper, so just touching her won’t wake her up [and just elicit a slap to hurt us, so why do it?]. Instead, we’ll use the great motivator of all cops everywhere, the humble cup of hot joe. Just press  **O** at it to get it working, defeat some Cop Pawns thirsty for the coffee, then press  **O** to add it to our inventory. Fight off some more Cop Pawns as we make our way over to Carmelita, though getting hit breaks the cup and we’d have to start over. Once over to her, press  **O** to wake her up with the coffee.

Carmelita, slowly stirring: “H-huh? S-Sly?”

Sly: “Morning, sleepy. Get some beauty rest?”

Carmelita: “I suppose… where am I?”

Sly: “According to Bentley, I’ve brought you to your lucid dreaming state, if that makes sense. We got a job to do, but we got to get out of here.”

Carmelita: “Okay, ringtail. Lead the way.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sly hugs Carmelita in victory, to her surprise and then happiness as she smiles and hugs back.*

\-----

**Hippomania**

  * Win the Destruction Derby.
  * Wake up Murray.
  * Defeat all the opponents to escape.



With new bridges spanning Sly and Carmelita’s dream together, it’s time to continue on to wake up the hippo. To get over on his side, just find some blue sparkles, which bring up bridges for once, but they are dangerous with race cars zipping by. They thankfully have wires running across to run on, to make it over before the bridge sinks back down. Our first stop in to the stadium in the middle of the area, where we have to use wire systems to keep above the streets which have cars speeding by and banging into and shooting each other. Making our way past the streets leads to a park-like area where the cars sometimes go through, requiring more wire crossing. The stadium waits near the end of the park. Along the way...:

Lumina:  “I think I remember the last split… We were feeling doubtful of Maginary Land being remembered because there was less people sleeping. We thought people were forgetting us.”

Carmelita, through the binocucom: “I doubt it was on purpose. These days, we aren’t getting much sleep anymore, a lot of events keeping us at work more often.”

Lumina: “I think Sonic did explain that afterwards, yeah. But we didn’t know it at the time, and that’s why we split, because Void became unbalanced as I was self-doubting.”

Sly: “Everyone goes through self-doubting, Lumina. You shouldn’t let that judge you at all.”

Lumina: “Yeah… Sonic and his friends reminded me of that in the end. That’s why we reformed once things were fixed.”

Bentley, over the binocucom: “I never would figure a dream world could have this much complexity.”

Lumina: “Well, it has to house everyone’s dreams, so it makes sense, you know?” *Sigh* “I can’t remember much more right now.”

Sly: “It’s alright. Let us know when you remember more.”

At the stadium, the entrance is blocked with many guards, and at the back, there is a locked door to the manager’s area.

Sly: “Hmmm, the doors are locked, and the front is a walking death trap for us three even. If only we had Murray…”

Bentley, over the binocucom: “I’m seeing the race going on… maybe you might be able to get the keys from them?”

Sly: “It’s possible. All we can do is try.”

Nearby to the stadium is a start/finish spot for the race, where some guards from the stadium stand in boredom. Approach them.

Yeti Guard: “What do you want, pipsqueak?”

Naga: “Can’t you see we’re busy?”

Sly: “Yeah, busy not doing your job.”

Crooked Detective: “Hey, you know I can arrest you for saying such things, right?”

Sly: “I know. Perhaps, we can put our money where our mouths are? I notice you all are running the races here.”

Yeti: “Yeah. What are you suggesting?”

Sly: “Pretty simple. If I win, I get all your keys. If not, well, that’s your choice.”

Crooked Detective: “Hah, prepare to lose then, sucker.”

Naga: “This is a destruction derby race, meaning we have the right to destroy the other racers to win as well. So either make it over first, or knock everyone out to win.”

Sly: “Fair enough.”

Yeti: “But you need a car first, stupid.”

Sly: “Oh, that’s easy.”

*Using some imagination, he creates the Cooper Van right nearby them, with all its bells and whistles.*

Naga: “Then let’s race!”

After a fadeout, we find ourself in control of the dream version of the Cooper Van, in a race with a mobster hot rod, a cop SUV, Egg Pawns in what looks to be a modified Egg Hammer vehicle, Hacker Pawns driving an Egg-mobile, a taxi cab with a Vendor Pawn at the wheel, a giant egg, and a banana car driven by the Mayan pawns. As explained by the guards, this is both a race and a destruction derby, meaning shooting and hitting the other cars are fair game to win this 3 lap race. It zips around the streets and cuts around the park, starting and ending drifting around the stadium.

The  **X button** drives forward,  **Square** breaks and drifts at higher speeds when we turn, the  **O button** lets us reverse and the  **R1 Button** fires bullets. I can promise everyone that it drives much more cleanly and responsively than it did in Sly 1, more acting like an actual car.

The Cooper Van does have its machine gun to fire at the other racers, which requires bullets collected from spinning Cooper Symbols on the track to add 50 rounds to fire. The damage done is slow and steady, and accurate to whoever’s targeted. There’s also the choice of hitting them ourselves, which can do more damage but it also damages the Cooper Van, marked by the health bar.

Either make it over the line first, or destroy all the other cars, to win and nab all the guards keys.

Sly: “Thank you, losers. Don’t worry, your bosses will never know your failures.”

*The Cooper Van’s gun shoots them into puffs of smoke and coins.*

Unlocking the door lets us into the manager’s room, which is empty for now but with plenty of stuff to break. Enough destruction will attract a guard to open the door, letting us into the hallways of the stadium. Snake around them, the enhanced number of Vendor Pawns, and the guards and we can make our to the ring, unnoticed by the spectators. Murray sleeps in the corner, so just head on over and wake him up.

Murray: “Zzz… Hot dogs… Chocolate… Donuts- Huh? Huh! Oh! Hi Sly… *Yawns* Where am I?”

Sly: “You’re awake in your dreams, I woke you up.”

Murray: “Oooh… cool.”

Sly: “Well, that was easy.”

*The stage lights start spinning around and the flares blow out smoke around the arena. An announcer starts talking, who sounds suspiciously like Eggman.*

Announcer/Eggman: “The Dream World Wrestling Foundation proudly presents the match between THE MURRAY!!!...”

*The crowd boos.*

Sly: “Well, we know who owns the crowd, don’t we?”

Murray: “I’ll sway them, don’t worry.”

Announcer: “... and the mighty robot army of genius DR. EGGMAN!!!”

*The crowd cheers.*

Sly: “So this is the legendary ham Sonic told us about.”

Announcer: “Witness 15 consecutive rounds of fighting, for the chance to escape this stadium! If Sly and Murray want to get out alive, they’ll have to beat my best minions to earn their freedom! Too bad we’re doing all we can to make their stay.. PERMANENT!”

*One of the spectators, which happens to be a regular Egg Pawn, throws a bomb nearby to Sly and Murray, which blows up to show they all mean business.*

Sly: “They’re all out to get us. I’ll try to keep the audience subdued, but you’ll have to fight these guys here.”

Murray: “Easy peasy, Sly! They’ll be bolt cereal once I’m done!”

Sly: “Hope I’ll see you on the box of Wheaties then.”

LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! We’ll have to fight the opposing team of guards and badniks who are itching to defeat us. Don’t stand in one place, as the audience is tossing bombs, bowling balls, and other items which can hurt us, but also hurt the competition if they are thrown at them. Eggman has certainly not made it easy, as it’s comparable to the likes of Robot Storm in their attack formations.

The first Round starts with 5 Frenchie Pawns to get us used to the style. The second consists of 2 Rounded and 3 Naga guards, so use one against the other for double defeats. The third is 4 Surfboard Yetis, so show them a brodacious time, brah. The fourth is a trio of Bandit Girls and 3 Cactus Pawns, best to use the girls on the sharp cactuses. The 5th is treated as a bigger round, and for good reason. Two detective guards and four sargent guards come in to attack Murray. Using the items tossed by the audience is a useful endeavour to stun them, and using Murray’s stronger powers should clean these guys out.

The sixth round eases up slightly with 4 Hacker Pawns coming onto the scene and acting like they’re Neo with their way past cool moves. Thankfully, they are nothing from a SUPER punch from The Murray! Four Mechanic Pawns come oiled up in the seventh round, but they aren’t alone as an Egg Bishop appears. They make things a lot harder, keeping the robots completely healed, so they will need to be dealt with first. The eight includes another Egg Bishop and 4 Mayan Pawns, but this should be a piece of cake with their more difficult spears. The ninth round brings 4 Vendor Pawns and 4 Cop Pawns, but the cops can slip in the condiments as well, making this easy work. The 10th Round ramps back up the difficulty as an Egg Wrestler hops in with two Cop Pawns in tow. It may be strong and powerful, but Murray is just as strong and tear it apart all the same.

The eleventh round returns the Egg Bishop, who supports a Yeti, Naga, Rounded and Detective. The Egg Bishop is able to heal those guards as well, so make that a first priority. The twelfth summons the dangerous Egg Magician with 2 Clydesdales and 2 Torph badniks. Creative use of the explosive Torphs’ on the guards should make this round finish fast. The thirteenth round brings an Egg Wrestler, another Egg Magician and Egg Bishop, plus 3 Hacker Pawns. The Egg Wrestler is more likely to break these bots, so we can use that to our advantage. The fourteenth brings 2 Sargent Clydesdales, 2 Yetis, 2 Rounded and two Cactus Pawns to bring on the hurt very late into the fight, but keeping on our toes will promise a win. And the 15th round finishes with two Egg Wrestlers, 2 Egg Magicians, and an Egg Bishop. Finish them to finally stop the parade of robots, but the fight continues…

Announcer: “Bwah hah ha! So you survived 15 rounds? Big whoop! Now it’s time for your final challenge!”

Murray: “Bring it on! I’ll defeat them just the same!”

Announcer: “Can you, hippo, when your prey is a BIRD?! EGG CONDOR!!! Go!!!”

*A huge bird smashes through the ceiling and lands on the opposings side of the ring. It is a large, orange robot bird, beating the size of the previous Egg Hawk in comparison. It has larger wings and large talons for its legs. There is no cockpit in the head, being an actual robotic version of a condor’s skull.*

**BOSS: EGG CONDOR**

The battle immediately starts with the Egg Condor grabbing up Murray and taking us into the air, flying around in a wide circle. After 3 laps, it will slam us down to the ground and use the beak to hurt us for large damage. We’ll have to wiggle free with the Left Analog Stick, which can either put us back at the ground or offer us a chance to jump onto the bird. If we’re lucky to jump on it, Murray can belly flop the bird straight to the ground for some big damage to the mech, and offer more time to wail on the wings. They’ll pop off with enough damage done to them. If on the ground, just toss guards or punch at the lower sections to damage it too, though not as much as from the top.

When both wings are off, the Egg Condor changes tactics to attacking us with talon swings and swipes. It also likes to hop to other sides of the ring when approached. This would be the perfect time to toss guards and items at the bird’s talons to damage them, with them finally popping off with enough damage and leaving it to fly by jets on its back. From there, just keep throwing things until it finally crash lands, and give it a nice belly flop to break it explosively and open up the doors out of here.

Murray: “All opponents fall to the awesome might of THE MURRAY!!!”

Sly: “Heh, let’s get out of here then, buddy.”

Just run outside the front doors to finish the mission.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Murray and Sly hug it out together, happily reunited.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, this chapter looks a little different because there is one less job throughout the whole Episode, they're longer, and because this is a perfect stopping point before we move on to the more abstract areas.


	28. Episode 7: Nightmare in Maginary Land: Job 4 through Operation Intermission

**Riding the Rails**

  * Destroy the Rhino Trains.
  * Wake up Sonic in the large train depot.



With all of Sly’s friends collected, we’re off to more dustier pastures as the city dwindles in size and turns to dirt and clay, before finally falling off for a large cliff face and steep dirt hills. High above the desert floor are plenty of railways with silver trains running around them. Most visit various stations, and circle a larger depot where Sonic sleeps. Below isn’t much but cactuses and enemies, and springs to bounce us back up onto the train stations.

Sly: “Whoa… we aren’t in the city anymore.”

Lumina: “I think… we’re in Sonic’s dream. I remember he likes the openness and freedom of a desert.”

Sly: “I notice some trains too. Some are silver in color.”

Lumina: “Oh! Those are from Riot Train! I guess Sonic liked them enough to dream about them. I wonder how you'll get to the depot over there?”

Sly: “Thankfully, I got a rail slide. Heh he.”

Perform the Rail Slide by **jumping** and pressing **O** and start traveling along the rail with the trains. It’s not advised to go against the trains, unless we’re fast enough to dodge the speeding train. We can also jump to the other rails by **jumping** and pressing **O** , or with the Sonic gang, just tilt left or right and **jump** , but be wary of falling off to the hopefully ground below. At the front gates to the depot, the gates have been locked magnetically and are electrified.

Lumina: “It’s well guarded. I guess they don’t want us to be able to reach Sonic.”

Sly: “Indeed. Bentley, can you see what’s keeping the doors shut like this?”

Bentley: “My best hypothesis is that those larger Rhino Trains running around the rails are providing a counter magnetic measure to the gates, preventing entry and shocking it as well.”

Sly: “So we are to jump onto the Rhino Trains and stop them by any means necessary, right?”

Bentley: “Pretty much.”

Murray: “Oh yeah! I wanna get smashing!”

Carmelita: “Me too. This seems to be pretty fun.”

Bentley: “Then we’ll just have to hop onto the trains as they pass by then.”

With a fade-out, we take control of Carmelita, and hers is as easy as super jumping onto the Rhino Train. Starting at the caboose, it’s clear that these trains are full of enemies engaging in shootouts with us, so keeping to cover of tables and other things are good options. Carmelita can kick tables with the **O Button** to make barriers. After the dust settles, we can usually walk through to the other end of the car, but a few sometimes add some extra dangers. Most usually come in the form of laser traps that have to be timely walked over but a few need to be beaten by putting tables on the grid to walk across easier. At the freight engine, simply overload it with her shock pistol until the engine explodes from too much energy and stops the train. Hop out quick and the train will be blasted away by the silver bullet trains.

Carmelita: “One train down.”

We fade on over to Murray, hopping onto his Rhino Train. As expected for the brute hippo, his cars are filled with plenty of guards and badniks asking for a beating. And with the smaller space, it can make for easier use of tossing enemies into each other to defeat them a lot faster and earn lots of coins. Other puzzles come in the form of usually breaking boards off the doors or blocking the way, or moving heavy objects around on switches or getting past laser floors/walls like Carmelita. At the front, just punch away the metal casing protecting the engine and break it apart then jump off the train to have it explode and knocked away by a silver train.

Murray: “BOOM! Another train down!”

Upon the fade in to Bentley, we use his jet-wheelchair to land upon the train and bomb the door inside. Most of Bentley’s enemies are the Pawns and flying robots, which can make things a little difficult, but good use of the bomb and Grapple Camera’s gun can blow them all to smithereens. Other obstacles to overcome are bombing metal plates blocking the way, and hacking some security systems to get through the laser grids. These hacking segments are pretty short bursts to finish and move right along. At the engine, just throw enough bombs and run to enjoy the fireworks while falling.

Bentley: “Another locomotive lost to my bombs, excellent.”

Finally, we come to Sly’s train. Sneaking inside, the guards are on high alert and have made mazes with the table to put Sly in obvious traps… or so they think. As usual, the mooks aren’t too bright, so we can sneak under the tables to get the jump on them. Similar to the trains in Sly 2, he can also climb up or down ladders or wires running around the train to bypass or sneak into them that way. Whatever route is taken to the locomotive end, Sly just has to close the hatch of the train that allows it to run, and hit it to keep it stuck in. Hop off, and the silver train will clear it away for good.

Sly: “Final train derailed. Let’s meet back at the depot.”

After a fade in back to the depot, we are shown the gate become both unelectrified and demagnetized, allowing the gate door to swing open. Inside is a few more guards for Sly to tangle with, along with some creative laser patterns to jump and dodge, but nothing too difficult keeping us from our goal. At the end of the depot is the sleeping Sonic, awakened with a touch.

Sonic: “Mmm… huh?! S-sly?”

Sly: “Heh, catch some Zs, speedy hedgehog?”

Sonic: “It seems so… weren’t we flying?”

Sly: “We were, and still are? We’re not sure, other than we’re in Maginary Land.”

Sonic: “Huh? Maginary Land?” *Gets up* “Why didn’t you say so? We got to get going then, help Lumina.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sonic does a breakdance, and Sly tries to perform but trips and lands on his stomach. He’s at least happy in jest.*

\-----

**Believe in Ourselves**

  * Climb up to the top of the city.
  * Use a broken Tornado to get over to the workshop.
  * Wake up Tails.



Riding the silver bullet trains or the rails to the other end of the canyon, the dry sands become lushy green again with grass which soon gives way to asphalt and a new city. Sonic fans will notice that it appears to be a high tech version of Station Square, with a beach front at one end, and the city’s mayoral office on the other. The buildings are much taller, and what could be called Speed Highway runs around somewhat up the buildings. This place is perfect for a master thief’s climbing skills. What’s not so great on thief skills is the tall, steep sloped hill that Tails’ workshop stands on.

Lumina: “What’s wrong? Is it too steep?”

Sly: “I’m afraid so. Clever thinking on the fox, though. Keeps it safe from enemies and those that try would be easily dealt with.”

Sonic: “I’d help get everyone up, but I’d usually Spindash up hills like these, and I doubt you all can bend that way.”

Sly: “It’s fine. We can make another way.”

Bentley: “Maybe if we gain some altitude, we can find a better way into Tails’ workshop?”

Turning our attention to the city, our work is really cut out for us. Getting up to the highest point starts with climbing the twisting highways upwards. There is some cars speeding back and forth, but none are in worrisome positions to be dodging all the time. In fact, they are useful to hold onto to make it past the twisting curves and loops in the track. We’re on the lookout for the nearby scaffolding of a building being built, to let us get inside and move on ahead.

The insides of the buildings call for some sneaking by Sly to avoid being detected and shot at, using various furniture and plants that are both cover and coinage coffers. Our next point to head towards is the roof of this tall building, but as expected, the elevators aren’t working, at least, the expected ones. In Sonic’s world, there’s always more than one kind of elevator, and here in the dreamworld, there are plenty of rising and falling platforms to jump on to. Most ride up and down and side to side, but there are a few that give way when stepped on and others that change from regular movement to spinning around and vise versa. It’s obvious a bit dangerous to fall down, but just carefully jump to make it through. The higher floors require swinging Sly’s cane at the glass to break them open and continue ahead.

We are on the roof of a skyscraper now, but there are still a taller one to reach. At this height, there are black and green air rings and Tornado planes whizzing by, which will help us reach the higher buildings. With the Tornados’, Sly just has to hook his cane onto their ring below and hold on for dear life as he is taken at high speed to the next skyscraper. Jump at the right time, warned by a beep, to hop off, and use his parachute as a measure to land on the building. Sly’s parachute is also useful for catching air from the air rings, pushing us higher into the sky and onto the buildings. At the top of the tallest skyscraper is what looks to be a deactivated plane…

Sly: “Huh. It’s the Tornados that fly around the area here, but its not on.”

Lumina: “Do you suppose it’s damaged?”

Bentley, through the dream binocucom: “It could just be deactivated.”

Sonic, through the dream binocucom: “How about using it like your parachute, Sly? I bet it would glide farther and reach Tails’ workshop.”

Sly: “I think so. Hmm…”

A nearby blue sparkle spot beckons us, and we use it. Out of thin air, versions of blimps from the mission in Holland appear.

Sly: “I think I can use these blimps to catch extra air to make sure I reach the workshop.”

Unfortunately, the other planes go on high alert and start firing at the blimps.

Sly: “O-oh… looks like they despise any aircraft in their vicinity. But I think… they can last long enough to get across.”

Lumina: “Less self-doubting, more get moving, right?”

Sly nods: “Gotta try. Here we go!”

With a 5 minute timer to work with, we got to glide the plane, guiding it on over to the updrafts provided by the bombarded blimps, which is plenty of time. Just lead the glider into the draft and it will blow us higher up so we can continue along. Something about this seems to be like using the updrafts for the eagle egg in Sly 2, huh? Well, it is pretty much that, but with our goal being the workshop. Just keep the steady flight, avoid being shot or going too low, and we will reach Tails’ spot, where the garage door opens and lets us inside.

Sly: “I’m in.”

Lumina: “It’s much grander than I thought it would be, even for a dream. You could work an entire aircraft like the Firebird in here.”

*As she mentioned it, the Firebird from Sonic Shuffle appears, but also bringing a lot of Mechanic Pawns and the fire jets on it blowing out.*

Lumina: “OOPS! Sorry, Sly!”

Sly chuckles: “Just a little extra challenge. I can handle it just fine.”

Our work got a lot more difficult with having to dodge both fire AND flying wrenches, but all hope is not lost. The Mechanic Pawns can’t cross the fire, so it can work to corral them into smaller groups to fight. And those unfortunately caught by the fire get burned and destroyed instantly. With all of them defeated, we have to dodge the Firebird’s flames and get on over to the sleeping Tails, sleeping on his titular tails, and wake him up.

Tails: “Huh? W-what have I been doing?”

Sly: “Sleeping, but don’t worry. It’s because you’re in the dream world of Maginary Land.”

Tails: “Oooh…”

Lumina: “Please, help me stop Eggman before it’s too late!”

Tails: “Of course! Let’s go!”

Sly: “Um… we would, but the Firebird won’t stop emitting jet flames, and whacking at it is having no effect.”

Tails: “Oh, just leave it to me. I’ll fix it.”

Now in control of the awakened two-tailed fox, we can go on ahead and land on the metallic phoenix and perform some rewiring jobs to both stop the bird from belching flames everywhere, but to also let it fly again. The job is complete once the Firebird is completely repaired.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Tails takes flight and carries Sly in victory, and the Firebird below them flies off and lands them at the base of the hill.*

\-----

**Temple Sneak**

  * Search for Knuckles in the ruins.
  * Escape the rising lava.



Knuckles dream leads us past the hill Tails’ shop stands on and over a light blue river into a deep jungle setting. Dirt paths make most of the walkways, but for a thief, there is always the trees. Most are climbable and the canopy makes for easier walkways to avoid the guards. Huge stone temples extend a bit higher above the trees and hide the echidna deep within their secret walls.

Sly: “Hmmm… I feel this civilization has more than it’s letting on. My thieving mind suggests Knuckles is down below.”

Tails: “Knowing Knuckles, he does love a good temple, and is a treasure hunter.”

Sly: “Ah, just like me, heh. Then I got the perfect idea where he just might be.”

As we head into the open temple, we are quickly greeted by pressure traps that will draw out spikes when we walk over them. Keep light by jumping to avoid getting pointed underfoot. Another trap to avoid comes from some arrows being shot out of loaders with Eggman’s face on them ala Aquatic Ruin, so keep watch where they fly. Some also come from Reliefs, where hitting their robot eye will make a new tunnel appear.

After going through some stairs and trapped halls, we are lead into a large underground chamber filled with water. Sly doesn’t have to swim, thankfully, by jump-pressing a button to lower the water level. However, we are in search of another switch to raise the water level to continue further in the submerged hallways so we can jump across floating platforms. The end of the submerged hall leads to a wall full of hooks to sling upwards on, by pressing O and pulling back, then jumping, to get up to another booby-trapped temple.

The 2nd temple isn’t too difficult to traverse, but it has plenty of Reliefs blocking hallways and more hallways that require a hit from the cane to reveal the secret wall. The secret walls are just a slightly redder tint that the normal stones, hinting on where they hide. The same goes for Relief held walls, but they are more whiter in color.

Making it through the temple maze leads to another large underground chamber, but this one is full of lava that rises and falls on its own. There’s usually plenty of platforms to climb, with unscorched ones marking where the lava doesn’t reach. The lava tubes slowly lead us downwards into a cavern filled with blue crystals. The lava makes geysers in the open spaces, but mostly stays out of our way as we climb up the platforms made by the crystals. The crystals end in a large chamber, where Knuckles sleeps.

Knuckles: “Mmm, huh? Why am I sleeping, and underground?”

Sly: “Well, it is your dreams, and I brought you to an awakened state with Lumina’s help.”

Knuckles: “Lumina? Oooh, I remember her.”

Lumina: “Will you please help us stop Eggman?”

Knuckles: “Heh, of course. Now we just got to get out of here…”

With Knuckles’ help to punch through some crystal walls, we enter a tall tube leading to the surface and lava bubbles up from below. Our way up is provided by wall hooks, requiring a lot of flinging to make it up in time. Though, if we’re worried that the lava’s too close, we can hit a wood plug on the wall with will make water cool the water and offer us more time. We will eventually make it out, and finally finish the mission.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Knuckles and Sly do a fist bump in victory.*

\-----

**Operation Intermission**

*Using a grey temple wall as the slide background, Lumina throws some sparkles onto the wall, which makes their ‘slide’ of the Operation name, then changes to showing Eggman controlling Void by use of a Phantom Ruby prototype.*

Bentley: “Since this is quite the weirdest way I’ve ever done a briefing, I’ll keep it short. Lumina has informed me and Tails that she remembers Eggman has Void in his grip by the use of a Phantom Ruby, which Sonic and his friends have dealt with already before.”

*She changes the sparkles to show the Cooper gang and Carmelita going to the Precioustone Temple and Sonic and company going into the carnival to destroy the Phantom Ruby.*

Bentley: “While we sneak past Void to enter the huge temple in the center of this dream world, Sonic and his friends are going to head into Eggman’s dream and destroy the Phantom Ruby Prototype he has going.”

*She changes the sparkles to the Precioustone altar.*

Bentley: “We’re heading inside the Precioustone Temple, since Lumina’s worried if it has been damaged or that Eggman is planning on doing something incredibly evil. Whatever it may be, we will stop it.”

~~Thiefnet Upgrades~~

  * _Scattershot_ : 650 Rings [Description: Using a bit of the Reflex meter, Carmelita can scatter her electric shot to hit multiple targets. Just put it onto one of the special buttons to use.]
  * _Shock Bomb_ : 700 Rings [Description: Using some of Bentley’s reflex meter, he can throw an electric bomb that sends out waves of electricity as its blast. It will shock most guards and severely damage most badniks. Also useful for a bright light in dark areas.]




	29. Episode 7: Nightmare in Maginary Land: Operation Sweet Dreams Aren't Made of This through Conclusion

**Operation: Sweet Dreams Aren’t Made of This**

  * Survive the demented carnival.
  * Destroy the first Phantom Ruby Prototype.
  * Sneak into the Preciouston Temple’s altar.
  * Destroy the 2nd Phantom Ruby Prototype.



We take control of Sonic and speed our way over from Sly’s Paris and through Bentley’s, straight over to the tall stone walls protecting Eggman’s dream. With some walking around, we can find iron gates preventing entry, which Knuckles can immediately punch through with the use of some red sparkles nearby.

The inside of the park makes most of Eggmanland look like a kiddie ride as everything is out to kill Sonic. Most of the straightaways and gentle curves are patrolled by Ferris Wheels coming off their axis and rolling after anyone down the path to crush them. The only way to avoid them is to hide in alcoves or ditches. Sonic will also need to use red sparkle spots to have Knuckles punch any other structures blocking his way.

Other dangers come from the inside of circus tents where the crowd once again likes throwing bombs and stuff to slow us down. And worse is the Showman Pawns directing from the center of the arena. They like sending endless waves of badniks and guards to slow us down. Ropes act as grind rails, which have swinging hammers trying to smack us back down into a spike pit. Sonic will also have to use yellow sparkle spots to call Tails to hold him and fly over large gaps. Escape is usually through the skylight or the guarded side of the tent.

The fairgrounds not patrolled by the Ferris Wheels are usually crawling with other guards, but they are the least of our worries. There are plenty of Vendor Pawns dropping condiments on the ground to make us slip slide around, usually into a game stall. Eggman’s games, of course, are killer to the patrons, as the hammers, baseballs and more fly at us like projectiles and the water guns shoot high pressure water at us for pain.

Getting through this hellish carnival that only an Eggman would love leads us straight to the big top, where Dream Eggman is hamming it up in his sleep.

Dream Eggman: “Come on, come all! Come join Eggman’s circus today! Everyone’s a winner! Watch world powers fall to Eggman’s might right before your very eyes! Join me, and you are guaranteed to live the next robot apocalypse!”

Sonic mutters: “Is this propaganda even supposed to be working at all? This is weak, even for him.”

Tails: “I don’t think it was meant to work on it’s own. Look up near the top.”

*Near the top of the tent is a satellite dish, with the Phantom Ruby on the tip that would send out the waves.*

Sonic: “Wait… If he pointed that thing at the Precioustone…”

Lumina: *Gasp* “He’d send the propaganda into everyone’s dreams, and subconsciously make everyone his soldier with very little effort!”

*Dream Eggman seems to have noticed anyways.*

Dream Eggman: “That’s right! Once I point this baby at the Precioustone, you’re all mine! And I don’t even need to enter the temple!”

Knuckles: “We’ll stop you!”

Dream Eggman: “You might, but in time? Clock’s ticking! And VOID! GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE AND STOP THEM!!!”

*Void appears from a black hole, looking like his evil monster form, but with a proper head instead of a Precioustone.*

**BOSS: VOID**

Void, having been forced to work for Eggman by use of the Phantom Ruby, eagerly stomps around the arena, swinging his arms as a regular attack. If too much distance is between him and Sonic, he’ll jump and stomp right onto him which can be dodged, but causes a shockwave that needs to be jumped over. In the air, Void can send out bolts of lightning to shock Sonic and Tails out of the sky. He’s much too strong to take out normally, so Sonic has to find yellow sparkle spots to fly high and knock a stage light onto Void that’s he is below to distract him long enough to get up to the satellite and home attack the gem and slowly break it over time. At least 4 stage light drops are needed to break the Phantom Ruby entirely and blow up the dish.

Sonic: “Hah! Your plan is foiled, Eggman! We destroyed your mind-control device and freed Void!”

Dream Eggman: “Oh, did you? Void, get these idiots out of my dream.”

*Void starts to reach for Sonic and the others, but stops, holding his hands over his heart area as if he were hurt.*

Void: “Lu… Mina… save me…”

Dream Eggman: “Wait, he shouldn’t be this affected, unless… DAMN IT! Where is Sly Cooper?!”

Sonic: “Dealt with the other part of your plan, I bet. We split before even coming.”

Dream Eggman: “GAH!!! VOID!!! Hurry back over to the Precioustone Temple and stop them by ANY MEANS NECESSARY!!!”

Void: “Y-yes… sir…”

*He disappears.*

Sonic: “Lumina, go help Sly. We’ll clean up here.”

Lumina: “Got it.”

*She disappears and we fade to black.*

Watching Sonic and company speed away over to Eggman’s dream, Sly turns his attention towards the central area of this dream world. The Paris landscape fades away and becomes roads of light with suns, moons, and other planetoids. Obviously, the suns are a no touch, but the moons, planets and other floating rocks are safe to jump onto and keep off the road. Void’s monstrous form is on patrol in the darkness, ready to attack at any moment. However, if we lead him to run into a star, it will shrink and weaken him enough to let us pull ahead and sneak into the temple with enough work.

Inside the temple, things aren’t as easy as we enter a huge temple chamber with solid holograms of Void coming out of the dark bottomless pit below with only two short walkways at either end of the room. Four switches are on the floor, with the logos of Sly, Carmelita, Murray, and Bentley on them. They have to press them and use whatever they make appear to get to the other side of the room, dodging Void’s wide hand swings, punches and kicks trying to disrupt us.

For Sly, lasers start appearing, going every which way like crazy rails leading over to the other end of the room. As we can guess, this is a reference to Sly doing his dad’s special laser walk power. We’ll have to jump from laser to laser, jumping over gaps in the laser sometimes made by Void, but also needing to change lasers with the  **O button** . We can exit through the door and take the next one in line.

For Bentley, he is warped into a pitch black room with nothing but his Grapple Camera and bombs. Using his Grapple Camera, he can see in the infrared spectrum and spot where the walkway, walls, and the dark pits are and roll over the right spaces accordingly. The bombs are needed to blow up cracked walls blocking the path and provide some easy light so the Grapple Cam doesn’t need to be used all the time. Once at the other end, we can leave.

For Murray, he is also warped into a dark room with four light blocks he can carry. The darkness looks shapeless at first, but by putting a light into a sort of flashlight machine, it directs the beam over out, making a light and shadow path to walk on. The shadows are painful to the touch, so try to avoid them, unless Murray’s holding a light block which makes it just a regular floor. It’s needed to walk on complete shadow walkways to make more beams of light with the flashlight machines. With all four lit up and working, the shadows on the door fade and let us get through.

For Carmelita, she’s sent into a room with an entirely invisible floor and a generator. There are also pits in the floor that can’t be seen in the darkness. By zapping the generator, it will flow a current through the floor, making it glow blue with electricity and allow us to walk around without falling. However, the charge doesn’t last long enough, so she’ll have to zap it again from wherever she is, or risk falling and starting over. Once on the other side, she can continue on too.

The four come out of different halls into the central area of the temple, which just so happens to house the Precioustone. Nearby to it, where Sly came out from, stands a similar antenna device with a Phantom Ruby Prototype on the tip, waiting to fire its signal and hypnotize the masses. Unfortunately, the monstrous Void is protecting both it and the Phantom Ruby.

Sly: “Oh my… he’s even huger than Carmelita was with the Mask of Dark Earth. How are we going to get past him…”

With this mammoth Void in front of us, getting close to the machine is nearly impossible, just with his stomp shockwaves requiring constant jumping. Climbing the structure the machine rests on is also difficult to traverse with Void around. Thankfully, after a minute, an event occurs.

*Just as quickly as he appeared, Void disappears and lets the others catch up to Sly.* 

Bentley: “What happened? Why did he stop attacking us?”

Sly: “Hmm… perhaps Sonic has them distracted?”

*As if on cue, the binocucom captures noises of Void attacking Sonic.*

Carmelita: “Then this is our chance, boys! Let’s get to breaking!”

Murray: “Sweet!”

With the gang back together, climbing up the satellite tower should be a fair bit easier when Sly uses the orange, green and pink sparkles scattered around. Carmelita’s shock pistol is useful for working generators to power machines to build the pathway again, or hit high targets to drop a ramp or other useful things. Murray can lift things to make stairs, or toss a few things to hit a faraway object or just might a strong door open. And Bentley can bomb metal things apart both near and far, and provide a little computer assistance to hack a door open. And, of course, Sly’s acrobatics offer walkways on the structure itself by just climbing up it.

With everyone’s help, once at the top, we can reach the Phantom Ruby. Give it enough whacks to watch it crack, then finally break to pieces. With that, climb right back down… just in time to have Void destroy the structure anyways in anger.

Void clutches his ‘heart’ again: “AAAAGH!!!! Help! ME!!!”

Lumina appears: “Oh no, Void.”

Sly: “I assume we’ve destroyed both Phantom Ruby Prototypes. So why is he still this strong?”

*Something white sparkles within the chest cavity of his body.*

Lumina: “The White Chaos Emerald! That’s it!”

Sly: “We’ve been figuring that it works with the minds of the mooks Eggman has given the Emeralds to. Does this also apply to Void?”

Lumina: “They are, and I see why he gave it to Void. He is the negative side of dreams, and if you gave him that limitless power, he could destroy dreams altogether!”

Bentley: “So he’s a ticking time bomb ready to explode at Eggman’s whim?”

Lumina: “Yes. We got to stop him, and save him if we can.”

Sly: “Thankfully, you got the right hands for the job. Let’s get him.”

\-----

**Boss: Void**

As before, Void starts off with stomping our hero underfoot with every jump and step he takes. However, there is a plan to cut him down to size. Murray, Bentley, and Carmelita offer some distraction with their moves, deterring him long enough to return his attention to us. With enough distance between him and Sly, Void will start throwing lightning from his hands and towards Sly, marked by the air getting sparky where it will hit. Around the arena are white sparkles provided by Lumina, and using them causes Sly to gain Carmelita’s shock pistol, but instead of a clip, it has a lightning rod.

Sly: “Sweet. I’ve always wanted to hold her weapon. I wonder…”

Letting ourselves get hit by the lightning, and giving Sly shocking flashbacks to a mission in China in Sly 3, prepares the weapon for firing. Blasting it directly at Void blows away some of the darkness around him, and makes him a tenth smaller. Each time he shrinks, it comes with both reducing his shockwave but making him attack a bit faster. Around 8 hits, when he’s nearly defeated, his stomps are replaced with kicking and punching, which a Murray distraction quickly helps get us distance. After 10 hits, Void is shrunk to normal size and the battle is done with a whack of Sly’s cane.

*With a whack of Sly’s cane, Void releases the White Emerald from his chest, which helps get him back to his senses.*

Void: “Oooh… what happened?”

Lumina: “VOID! You’re safe and sound!” *She immediately hugs him.*

Void: “Yeah…”

*We fade to black to skip ahead, as Sly and gang tell Void everything.*

Void: “Oooh… I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

Sly: “No worries, you’re free now, is what matters.”

Lumina: “Wanna become one again?”

Void: “Yeah.”

*With a dance, they glow and soon become the one being, Illumina. Around this time, in the background, Sonic and the others arrive.*

Sly: “Whoa…”

Sonic: “Illumina!”

Illumina: “Thank you everyone for saving me and getting us back together. Please, take the Chaos Emerald with my blessing.”

*Sly grabs the White Emerald and is whisked away in a white lightning flash.*

\-----

**The** **White Emerald** **’s Emptiness**

  * Escape the White Void.



*With a more darker grey flash, Sly finds himself surrounded in a pure white void, with nothing around him but the White Emerald.*

Sly: “W-wha? Where am I?”

The White Emerald: “You are in the White Space. Time does not exist here.”

Sly: “Am I… stuck here?”

The White Emerald: “Do you want to escape?”

Sly: “Well, yeah, with you of course.”

The White Emerald: “Then think of a way out. Surely the master thief has a solution for this problem.”

Panel #1: ???? / The Ball

We can notice a single blue sparkle nearby, so head on over and press the  **O button** on it.

Sly: “If that’s the case, then…”

*Sly starts thinking of a way out, which turns the blank canvas into memory-filled locations from Sly’s life.*

Sly: “Ooooh, it’s when I danced with Carmelita at Rajan’s ball. I liked that.”

*The White Emerald changes into Carmelita.*

‘Carmelita’: “Then dance your way out of here, Ringtail.”

With the White Emerald masquerading as Carmelita, just follow the random button prompts to dance across the room to the next panel.

Panel #2: The Lemonade Bar

Sly: “Heh, we had a large brawl here with my friends. That was fun.”

*The White Emerald changes into Murray.*

‘Murray’: “Then let’s brawl!”

Various guards and badniks from Maginary Land run in through the doors, so we must beat them all down, in order to escape through the upper door to the next panel.

Panel 3: Defeating Clockwerk

Sly: “Whoa, lava! But… this is where I first beat Clockwerk, isn’t it?”

*The White Emerald becomes Clockwerk.*

‘Clockwerk’: “It would have been your grave, Sly Cooper.”

Sly: “But I persisted.”

Sly has to climb the sinking lava structure, which is a little easier to traverse than the one in Sly 1. At the top, hit Clockwerk to be punted into the next panel.

Panel #4: Fiendish

*Sly finds himself with paper versions of the Fiendish Five over his dad’s shadowed corpse, represented by the White Emerald which flickers for a moment.*

Sly: “H-huh? D-dad?”

‘Conner Cooper’: “A-avenge… me…”

As tempting as it is to have Sly enact sweet justice onto the people that killed his dad right on the spot, this is more of a test of Sly’s will. Avoid attacking them, and instead head on over to the blue sparkle marked closet to find a hole into the next panel.

Panel #5: The Orphanage

*Sly finds himself alone in the empty halls of the Orphanage he was dropped off in when his parents died. The White Emerald is nowhere in sight.*

Sly: “The orphanage?... I don’t get it…”

The place is eerily quiet with no one in sight and looking like it was abandoned. We could follow the exit signs out of here, but we need to head the other direction, to enter a room with a blue sparkle. Use it to reveal Bentley and Murray, who hug Sly happily. We can move on to the next panel.

Panel #6: Kaine Island

*Sly is snared completely into the grasp of Dr. M’s mutant, which is the White Emerald in disguise when it flickers momentarily.*

Sly, through groaning: “N-no… I didn’t die here.”

A blue sparkle appears above Sly, so press O to work it and make Carmelita come over and shoot the mutant, freeing him.

Sly, breathing hard: “W-wait… this… is a test. To see how I respond in the low points of my life…”

The White Emerald: “You are starting to get it. And you are performing much better than past users of this Emerald.”

*Sly fades out from the panel…*

Panel #7: The White Space

*Sly and the White Emerald appear in the White Space once again.*

Sly: “I am?”

The White Emerald: “Yes. You have a very pure connection to your friends and don’t let the bad times bring you down. You think with a clear head and perform with the utmost grace and serenity.”

Sly: “Thanks… I think?”

The White Emerald: “You are worthy for the power of this Emerald, which means you can do whatever you want.”

Sly: “Really?”

The White Emerald: “Yes. I am limited only to the size of your imagination. I could make Carmelita the love of your life for certain, for example.”

Sly: “Huh?”

The White Emerald: “I can keep your friendships for your friends Murray and Bentley safe as well, where you guys won’t die alone. You can even make the perfect thieving utopia for you and your friends to play in, and include Carmelita in your adventures.”

Sly: “So, basically… you’re saying I can have anything I want?”

The White Emerald: “Yes, just come to me.”

After going 6 Emeralds grabbing them to end the world, one would think choosing the Emerald is the perfect option. Indeed, there doesn’t even seem to be any other choice. But keep walking, to find a lone blue sparkle. Use it, and a door appears, and head towards it.

Sly: “You know what? No thanks.”

The White Emerald: “No? You don’t want to have the perfect world in the palm of your hands?”

Sly: “Where would the challenge be there? I live for the fun, and don’t mind when the bad happens, because I know the good is coming soon. And I wouldn’t want to rewrite the pains of my life since it made me what I am today.”

The White Emerald shines: “Correct. You have passed your final test.”

Sly: “So I’ve gathered.”

The White Emerald: “For real this time, take me, so you can get back to your friends and Lumina too. I will offer this, darkness is right at your doorstep, but you will know just what to do to drive it away.”

Sly: “Alright.”

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sly grabs the Emerald and holds it in the palms of his hands, perhaps feeling the power of it as he gets warped away by white lightning.*

\-----

**Conclusion** :

*Sly appears in a flash of white with the others, and gets everyone into a big group hug. Sly shows off the White Emerald.*

Sly, narrating: “After reappearing in the temple with all of my friends, I felt an urge to give a group hug, both as an apology to Sonic’s friends, and to remind my gang how much I care for them. Afterwards, I showed them the final Chaos Emerald that I had snagged.”

*Illumina shines and raises her hands, and gives her final words as she helps them finish their sleep.*

Sly, narrating: “To signal the end, Illumina gathered our attention.”

Illumina: “It’s time for you to awake, my dreamers. I give you my blessing that you will succeed in stopping Dr. Eggman before he can take over the worlds.”

Sonic: “Heh, don’t worry, we’ll stop him.”

Illumina: “I feel it so. Be safe and good luck.”

Sly, narrating: “She then blew some sort of sparkly powder onto us, like what she used to help us fall asleep in the first place. What came next was the fight of our lives.”


	30. Episode 8: The Chaotic Mind of Dr. Eggman: Introduction through Job 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys might notice that I have 2 title cards for this Episode. I can't really decide which title is better suited for this. I hope some stronger fans than I can offer some help on the better title.

**Introduction** :

*The entire cast awakes on the ground, safe and sound, and wastes no time returning to Angel Island. With use of the teleporter in Hidden Palace, they are sent up to Sky Sanctuary and replace the Chaos Emeralds to their altars.*

Sly, narrating: “We awoke in the middle of a field in the late afternoon, laying on the Tornado which had touched down safely. Wanting to not get jumped by Eggman, we hurried back onto the plane and sped towards Angel Island. Once touched down, Sonic and his friends showed us the way to a quiet place underground called Hidden Palace. With the use of a teleporter there, we were sent high up into the sky where the altars that we stole the Chaos Emeralds at, which was called Sky Sanctuary. It took us very little time at all to get the jewels back to their respective places.”

*Appearing fast in the background, Eggman’s flagships capture Sky Sanctuary in a green tractor beam. Some of the old ruins end up getting pulled further away from each other in the process.*

Sly, narrating: “However, our little victory was short lived as the 7 sections of Sky Sanctuary were caught in tractor beams by Eggman’s fleet. It pulled us within them and we could barely keep our balance on the shifting islands, some pieces coming apart further.”

*Egg Robos are shown attacking the heroes with their guns, but they are easily dealt with. However, Cubot and Orbot are shown stealing the Emeralds and flying to the main flagship shaped like an orca. Smaller ships start filling the sky, offering a path out of the ruins.*

Sly, narrating: “Now seperated, Eggman sent his Egg Robos to distract us as a cube and ball robots stole the Emeralds again and took them to the main ship which was bigger than the rest. We were able to deal with the Robos, but were left too far apart to help, or even contact each other. Smaller airships flew in between Sky Sanctuary and the ships, clearly a luring path to danger, but we didn’t have much choice. We were going to have to find some way to get through this dangerous gauntlet safely.”

Sly Cooper, his Gang, and Team Sonic in

*Dark clouds spread apart to reveal Eggman’s shark flagship flying in a thunderstorm. Lightning strikes the ship, which flows down a lightning rod, and sends the charge down through rows of wire lights, revealing the title: ‘  **Chaotic Skies** ‘.*

*On a black background, the Chaos Emeralds shine one by one, glowing brighter and revealing the Master Emerald shining too. They also reveal themselves to be on Eggman's glove, as his glasses shine in the darkness. The title fades in: '  **The Chaotic Mind of Dr. Eggman** '.*

\-----

**Hub Layout** : Flying high among the clouds of Sonic’s world, possibly near the edge of space, Eggman’s fleet roars over the dark clouds below, where plenty of lightning is brewing. Perhaps from being too high up and getting most of the horizon, it is night time on the west side of the area, and late evening on the day side, and a weird twilight zone cutting down the middle.

Eggman has 7 larger flagships, 6 being colored like Great White Sharks, and the seventh like an Orca (Eggman HAS to know Sonic hates Orcas by now.) , flying at the same speed, and dragging along the ruins of Sky Sanctuary right in the middle. Sky Sanctuary itself has been pulled apart into 7 sections, and seemed to have picked up parts of Chaos Angel as well with platforms that move around when ran on and falling walkways that are instant or slow to name a few. Flying just as fast as the larger ships, smaller carriers of varying shapes, sizes and attachments provide a broken walkway between the tractored pieces and the flagships themselves.

For the 6 Great White Shark ships, they’re all business and no pleasure, having only the rooms necessary to run. All along their backs are runways and cannons aiming to take us out, with the upper fin being the control tower. Down below, the helm takes up the upper part of the head, while a huge cannon stays at the ready in the mouth area. The middle of the sharks are filled with hallways and rooms full of ammunition and other mechanical parts to keep the ship afloat. And at the rear end, the engines roar with power.

As for the Orca ship, it is clear Eggman’s on it with certain sectors of the ship blocked by heavy blast doors before the Operation occurs. It is around two times larger than the other ships, including more than the rooms than the shark flagships, with some together like the cannon and ammo rooms in one huge room. Obvious areas are a kitchen and mess hall, a comfy living area with scenic window views, bedrooms and bathrooms. Yet again, Eggman includes another pool room, with the pools in the shape of his face. In a more secluded area of the ship, Eggman fuels his gambling addiction with plenty of slot machines that are rigged to release plenty of rings and spike balls [The spikes probably come out because there’s a sensor for the heroes and would NEVER come out for Eggman]. Some of the rooms are connected by a super fast roller-coaster ride that we’d have to jump on and off of to even access the rooms, and they stop in a central area in the middle of the ship. A lower communication room near the blast doors ends up being where the safehouse is.

**Enemies** :

  * **Solar** : Mother nature was sorely lacking in mythical beasts of grandeur power, and Eggman loves to one-up nature, so he made his own meched up godly guard line to patrol his ships. Compared to most other Eggman machines, these guards can take quite a bit of a pummeling and are weaponed up to the teeth in power. The Solar is based off the phoenix, and while they don’t resurrect from the ashes, they are coated in fire most of the time. The flames last 20 seconds before unlighting for 10, doubled if wet, leaving them partially open if they didn’t fly away during that time which they do randomly. In the sun and artificial lighting, the times are cut in half, unless their doused, so be cautious of where to fight them. Biting and scratching our their attacks when doused, but that’s much easier that flames for miles. They more patrol outdoor spaces so they can be easy to dodge if we keep moving too. They carry or drop 18-20 rings and can be pickpocketed for an extra small treasure sometimes.
  * **Lunar** : Eggman came us with a weird combination when he did a hippogryph. Instead of the usual horse and eagle, he instead went with a raven and a stag. One can expect the claws and biting it can do, along with headbutting when running along the ground. However, on the night side, they become a more dangerous force when they fire a large blue beam from their mouth in a wide spread. Light from the sun or the bulbs can stop them from using it so lead them close to those to make them a bit easier to be defeated. They carry or drop 19-21 rings and can be pickpocketed for an extra medium treasure sometimes.
  * **Dragoon** : Now how could Eggman possibly make a dragon be THAT much more of a powerhouse? Guns, lots of guns. It gnaws and swipes with its teeth and claws as expected, but from a distance, guns come out from the shoulders and mouth and fire lots of bullets to overkill its enemies. It can also fly around and do this, and will eventually come down to let us attack it. They are definitely the hardest to defeat guard for sure. They carry or drop 20-22 rings and can be pickpocketed for an extra large treasure sometimes.
  * **Falco Mk II** : The miniature Egg Hawks from Heroes got both an upgrade in size and fire power to be more like drones, to hover around anywhere and fire plenty of bullets. They got a gun on each side that moves around to fire in any direction. They’re tough, but not impossible to handle when they fly lower. Drops 19 rings
  * **Egg Force One:** Who knew an Egg Pawn can look so dapper and secret agent in a suit and tie? They carry the standard laser pistol, but can quickly change into a larger fire group at any time. They can even toss grenades to keep foes away. Too bad they still blow up easily. Drops 19 rings.
  * **Butler Pawns** : Eggman’s Pawns in black shirts and pants that work to his beck and call, serving him drinks and bringing him food and whatever he asks for. However, they are willing to throw the plates and glasses on their server plates to hurt us with. Close range just has them swinging the circular pans they are holding. Drops 19 rings.
  * **Aardvacuum** : Medium sized badniks in the shape of aardvarks that clean up the ship’s trash. Though, if they spot an enemy, they use their nose as a cannon to fire painful trash balls. They’re armored on the front, so the weaker fighters got to break them on the back side with a few hits. Drops 19 rings
  * **Egg Robo** : Fitting for a narcissistic scientist, he has a line of robots that are just as rotund as his figure, flying with jetpacks and using laser guns as their means of attack. They like to sometimes fly out of reach, but they’ll come back for their beating the more shots that miss. Offers a mess of 20 rings when smashed.
  * **E-2000R (Shield)** : Eggman’s strongest robots from Final Fortress patrol the decks and halls for intruders, now with a silver paint job and looking more knightly. Their shield protects their already strong bodies from harm at most moments, but they can’t use it when they are firing their huge pink lasers. It’s best to avoid a hallway encounter with these guys, since the laser could hurt us easily otherwise. Drops 20 rings when smashed.
  * **E-3000S (Sword)** : An updated form of the E-2000R, also with the silver paint and knight like look. Theirs is more complete with the fact that their laser was traded in for a strong, long, metallic sword. It has a wide swing and can easily cut away enemies in their path. However, that’s not all, as they can touch their free arm and release a force field that entirely protects them, and stops attacks. At least, they can’t attack either, so that ends up a waiting game. A stun would be useful on them to easily dispose of these strong robots as well. Drops 20 rings when smashed.



Treasures:

From Guards:

  * _Red Garnet_ : Worth 80 rings.
  * _Green Garnet_ : Worth 90 rings.
  * _Blue Garnet_ : Worth 100 rings.



On Pedestals:

  * _Eggman’s Golden Bottle Caps_ : Wait, hang on, these are buttons for his jacket, but they are much too big and look like… Anyways, doubt Eggman minds a few missing and sold away. Found in Eggman's bedroom with a 30 second bomb on it. Worth 300 rings.
  * _Eggman’s Eggmanland Concepts_ : Seems to be a failure version plans of Eggmanland with very little evil to it. Or, maybe he was planning to have a legit park to make money off of? Found in Eggman's assembly area which is only open later on. Worth 600 rings.
  * _Eggman’s Polka Dot Pajamas_ : Very colorful pajamas with white dots on them. Very comfortable, and perfect for wear any time. Wonder if it makes us look like a president? Found in Eggman's quarters which is only gettable after Eggman is dealt with. Worth 1000 rings.



~~Jobs~~

**Sneaking Suspicions**

  * Enter the Orca ship.
  * Plant a homing beacon in the large bedroom near the blast doors to tell the others of a safehouse.
  * Destroy the main cannon and ammo dump.
  * Break a new way in to Eggman’s location.



We should waste no time getting through the broken parts of Chaos Angel, as Sly has to contend with platforms that fall a few seconds after being stepped on. Broken ropes and hooks stay floating in the tractor beam, which offers Sly a nice obstacle course out of here. Once out of the tractor beamed pieces, we’ll have to jump onto the airships and use them to continue on, ala Egg Fleet. Some do have cannons firing, but a few whacks of the cane will knock them out of submission. And as for getting across the spaces between ships, there are plenty of rails for Sly to grind along and carve his own path to the huge Orca ship ahead.

Once aboard the main air carrier, Sly’s got some investigate sleuthing to do. Our first order of business is securing a safehouse for the gang to meet up at, since they are all separated. The decks are well patrolled by cannons and guards of the highest caliber, making even a seasoned thief shiver in their boots. Fortunately, there are plenty of choices to go around, by either taking the decks to the fin rooms, or going into the buildings sticking out along the back of this ship.

Entering from the front section leads us down right into the living area under the deck, where there are plenty of windows running along the side. With all the lounge chairs and luxury, it seems to be where Eggman would look out at the world below. Continuing north from the upper section leads Sly into the mess hall where he and his robots would eat, and towards the back, a kitchen. Most of the food seems to be nuts and metals though, so Eggman must have his own food source… Moving along, we finally enter the hallways of the ship, finding the other entrances from the deck outside. Quickly, we find bedrooms and bathrooms, perhaps meant for prisoners Eggman captures. We also find heavy blast doors blocking access to rooms higher up the fin where the Captain’s room would be, suggesting Eggman is up there. The room of interest, however, is a communications room with a lot of computers, a perfect base for the gang.

Sly: “This should be home base. Let’s see, where’s that waypoint…”

*Sly places a waypoint beacon on the table to alert the others and we gain control again.*

~~Thiefnet Upgrades~~ [Yes, it’s able to be accessed at this time, but also at any time we enter this room as the other characters.]

  * __Health Upgrade 3_ : 1000 Rings [Description: Entirely doubles the amount of health we have to take a lot more hits.]_


  * _Reflex Upgrade 3_ : 1000 Rings [Description: Entirely doubles the amount of Thief Reflexes we have.]



 

~~

Our next objective leads us down further into the ship, which allows us to use this ship’s transport system inside, which happens to be a roller coaster. All we have to do is jump and press the  **O button** to get on, and hold on tight as we are whisked fast down the tracks, speeding by the other rooms. Our drop off is the mouth area of the ship, where we find a humongous laser cannon.

Sly: “That’s a huge cannon, even more than I’ve ever seen in our world. How the heck do we take this down?”

Hitting it with the cane is out of the question, but there is another way to destroy it, which requires climbing up ammo box stacks and using moving hooks to climb our way up into the crane operating room above. Once in there, we can use the crane hooks to grab the explosive ammo, it uses the  **T-Pup** commands to note, and drop them onto the cannon to damage it. With enough damage, cracks and dents form, until it finally shatters into pieces on the floor. Any leftover ammo just needs to explodes to finish this part of the mission.

Sly: “Heh, the first thing I’ve destroyed by myself. Awesome. Hmm… I should try to gather our team extra information…”

Our mission continues, as we fight or avoid the robots in the lower halls and spot access to the living area and a casino room along the way. However, our goal leads us to the back of the ship, where the super-powerful engines lie. Destroying it looks to be impossible, however, there is something more interesting, as there is an open area below with plenty of hovering cooling fans blowing up at the engine.

Sly: “Hmmm… I wonder if my parachute could grab enough air from those fans.”

Using the high-powered fans, we can fly along the lower belly of the ship with the fans to reach a lower deck area that seems unconnected to the rest of the ship where we find…

Sly: “THE VAN!!! She’s still safe. Murray’s going to be excited.”

From the room the Van is in, we continue through some empty hallways to the other side of the blast doors, and find the room where they can be opened. However, before we can…

*Dr. Eggman appears from around the corner.*

Eggman: “You, and your friends, are very troublesome, and just a thorn in my side as Sonic is. However, you’re alone, aren’t you?”

Sly: “Y-yeah, but I could easily take you on. I’ve fought bigger baddies than you.”

Eggman: “Indeed, I’ve done my homework on you. But I would urge you to reconsider.”

Sly readies his cane: “And why is that?”

*Eggman reveals the Chaos Emeralds, floating around him.*

Eggman: “I’m much worse than Clockwerk. Now, follow me.”

*Orbot and Cubot come out of the room with the controls for the blast doors, carrying shock prods to urge Sly along.*

**JOB COMPLETE?** *Sly’s left to walk off screen with his hands up.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, and once again, this Episode has no intermissions save for the Operation at the very end. Besides, it ends nicely here, don't it? :P


	31. Episode 8: The Chaotic Mind of Dr. Eggman: Job 2 through Job 4

**Hippo Takedown**

  * Break into the ship.
  * Destroy the cannon.
  * Destroy the ammo dump.
  * Break the engines.



Murray’s escape from Chaos Angel leads him to jumping onto platforms moving over large distances, but it is not much of a leisure trip. Plenty of spikes come out of the ground at any moment, perhaps as a protective measure that makes things more difficult. Avoid them to not be left behind or fall off the platform by mistake. Later on, the ships fly close and have hovering platforms to jump along and make our way to the shark ship.

The runways can be a dangerous place for a hippo, as cannons fire on us. But worse comes from the Falcos’ that want to continuously shoot at us. Thankfully, throwing something blows them up. Breaking in is as easy as punching a door in, leading us down into the belly of the beast.

First order of business is getting rid of the cannon, which for Murray, is easily going to break to that hippo might. Two birds can be killed with one stone by grabbing ammo from the other rooms and throwing them at the cannon. Even the guards are a useful tool for breaking the cannon as well.

With the ammo and cannon destroyed, our attention turns to the engine. Toss guards and other objects into it to slowly hamper its performance. We aren’t aiming to destroy it, but more make Eggman call repair ships to add more ships to the armada. With it damaged enough, we can use the ships to leave and move on.

The mission ends when we reach the communications room on the Orca ship.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Murray dances around in victory.*

\-----

**Punch Out**

  * Break into the ship.
  * Destroy the cannon.
  * Destroy the ammo dump.
  * Break the engines.



Knuckle’s journey leads him across a large mess of long ruins from Sky Sanctuary and Chaos Angel that he needs to climb on to get out of here. Keep a watch of the spike balls flying around in the mess too. His glide is going to be a useful tool for getting to the ruins, and later, flying across the large gaps between airships.

On board the Shark ship should bring back memories of Egg Fleet, just with stronger robots than the last time. And down below, dealing with the cannon and ammo dump rooms are pretty easy for a punching echidna. Even the engine is no match for Knuckles’ fists. With all of them destroyed, we can leave to the larger Orca ship and finish the mission by entering the communication room where Murray is.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Knuckles fist-bumps Murray in victory.*

\-----

**Bombing Run**

  * Bomb into the ship.
  * Destroy the cannon.
  * Destroy the ammo dump.
  * Break the engines.



Bentley’s run across the ruins is quite a fair bit calmer than the rest, as he climbs up some more stable ruins and using springs to reach up higher. His jet pack will come quite in handy jumping over the gaps in the ruins and later, crossing the ships. Bentley’s bombs can easily destroy the metal crate stacks that block the way.

And once more, Bentley’s bombs can easily blow up the cannon and ammo dumps easily. The engine too is no match for him. However, the guards can be a bit of a problem, so keeping away from them might be a smart idea. With the all of the objectives finished, we can continue past the decks of the ship Murray finished off and head onto the communications room to finish the mission.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Bentley hugs his friends in victory with the robot arms.*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how short this one is. It was difficult to keep things fresh over each Job. 
> 
> I might do the other 3 Jobs before the Operation during this week as well...


	32. Episode 8: The Chaotic Mind of Dr. Eggman: Job 5 through Operation Intermission

**Fly Like a Fox**

  * Break into the ship.
  * Destroy the cannon.
  * Destroy the ammo dump.
  * Break the engines.



Tails, with the use of his namesake, probably qualifies for the easiest escape from Chaos Angel by flying across the broken ruins, only landing to let him recharge. There are more cannons firing around here as well, but nothing that makes it totally impossible. The airships are not much more difficult than they were in Heroes, even if we can’t thundershoot them.

Aboard the shark ship, avoiding the guards is top priority since Tails is not strong enough to defeat them before they would do the same. Once inside, we can fly up into the crane operator room and use that to easily destroy the cannon with cannonballs. In the ammo dumps, the T-Pup’s grabber can toss the guards or loose ammo into the other boxes, making them explode with little effort. Same goes with the engine, as tossing guards and robots right into it to choke it down. Afterwards, we can escape along the new ships and finish the mission in the communication room.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Tails flies and high-fives everyone.*

\-----

**Fox Trot**

  * Break into the ship.
  * Destroy the cannon.
  * Destroy the ammo dump.
  * Break the engines.



Carmelita’s crossing has her jumping up through an intact ruin area with some cramped spaces. There is no worry at least of falling to our doom, but there are some tough robots to contend with in the way. The outside makes better use of her Super Jumps to bridge the gaps between ruins and the fleet ships. And as expected, her gun short circuits any cannons trying to shell her.

The guards on the airships are tough to be sure, but with her trusty shock pistol, no one’s out of reach. That pistol is going to be quite handy with frying the circuits that power the cannon, breaking it that way. And we all know how electricity and explosives mix, hint: they go boom, so that’s simple work too. Even the engine is of no issue when it goes down for the count. Afterwards, we can move it along out of here and jump across the ships to the Orca one and finish the mission in the communications room.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Carmelita gets to stretching to prepare for what’s next.*

\-----

**Speed Smashing**

  * Break into the ship.
  * Destroy the cannon.
  * Destroy the ammo dump.
  * Break the engines.



Sonic’s finally in his element: him vs Eggman’s army. His runs have him continuously running over instant falling platforms that also go up around structures like on Sky Sanctuary. And once he survives that, Eggman’s welcome wagon greets him with floating Falcos and other fliers to act as stepping stones between airships. The cannons are pretty much no match for Sonic at all, and nothing for those of us who played Heroes religiously.

The shark ship is in for some damaging blows, as nothing can stop Sonic at all. We can knock around the cannonballs like billiard balls to break the cannon apart if homing attacks get boring. The homing attack can knock guards into the explosives and blow them up as well. And no engine can stand the might of a destructive hedgehog. With all of this done, we can get the heck out of this ship and finish the mission in the communication room with the others.

**JOB COMPLETE** *Sonic high fives the others as he makes his way to his seat.*

\-----

**Operation Intermission**

Bentley: “Hang on, where is Sly?”

Sonic: “Shouldn’t he have gotten here first?”

Knuckles: “He should have, I saw him easily flying along the hooks with ease.”

Tails: “So then, where is he?”

*Dr Eggman appears on a nearby monitor.*

Eggman: “He is with me.”

*Eggman moves aside, and shows Sly blocked by Orbot and Cubot pointing the shock prods at him. Sly, of course, has the perfect thing to say.*

Sly: “Guys! The Van is alright!”

Murray: “THE VAN!!! SHE’S OKAY!!! I’LL GET YOU!!!”

Eggman: “Oooo…. Kay… Anyways, you guys better hurry up and save him, or he’ll be the first victim to my final plan.”

Sonic jeers: “You going to bore him to death with your past conquests?”

*Eggman needs only to show the Chaos Emeralds floating around him.*

Eggman, in his most serious voice to date: “You’ll see.”

*He cuts the transmission.*

Tails: “D-did he sound very serious that time?”

Sonic: “He definitely is, since he has the Chaos Emeralds.”

Knuckles: “And the Master Emerald!”

Carmelita: “Do any of you have any ideas why he wants them?”

Sonic: “It can’t be for the weapons, they’re out of commission for now.”

Bentley: “We’ll figure it out as we get to Sly, so let’s get moving everyone.”


	33. Episode 8: The Chaotic Mind of Dr. Eggman: Operation Sky Fall through Credits

**Operation: Sky Fall**

  * Find a way through the blast doors to get to Sly.
  * Free Sly and the others.
  * Shoot up Eggman’s army.
  * Sneak over to Eggman and steal the Emeralds.



The operation starts with Tails heading down to the engine room that we went to as Sly. From there, we fly with the use of the fans over to the other side and past the room we found the van in. There is a little guard presence, but nothing too difficult to avoid as we make our way upstairs and into the room where the controls with the blast doors were at. Just hit the switch with a spin to open up the blast doors and let the others through.

Murray: “Out of my way! I’M COMING!!!” *He rolls down the stairs to the van.*

Sonic: “Looks like we’re going to be down a person.”

Bentley: “We will be fine. Besides, our van can be quite useful. But let’s hurry on to get Sly.”

We climb up the small tower to where Eggman is keeping Sly, which happens to be the Captain’s room where the steering of the ship takes place.

Eggman: “Well, well, the pincushion and his friends have finally arrived… to die.”

Sonic: “Whatever you’re planning, Eggman, we’ll stop, no problem!”

Eggman smirks: “Do you even have any idea what the end of this plan is?”

*They don’t know at all.*

Eggman: “Release Sly, he’s not needed anymore.”

*Orbot and Cubot let Sly go, putting away the shock prods.*

Eggman: “I have been studying the Chaos Emeralds for many years now, and somehow, they always seem to favor you, Sonic.”

Sonic: “Well, yeah. Who’d want to work with you?”

Eggman: “Sneer comment aside, you’re right. Only one of these Emeralds likes being in my possession, and the more I looked, the more I noticed that the Chaos Emeralds are drawn to certain individuals.”

Tails: “Well, they do have minds of their own.”

Eggman: “Like living people, almost. So, I tested it out on those minions you all fought, finding out what truly makes them tick. Red is anger and passion, Yellow is defense and joy, Green is life and Chaos itself, Cyan is as free as Sonic himself with similar smugness.”

Sonic: “It’s got good taste then.”

Eggman: “Ahem, Blue is as free flowing as water and electricity, Purple evokes sadness and hypnosis, and White is the power of the gods and imagination, the one that likes me.”

Sly: “And how is this going to help you?”

Eggman: “I am surprised that Knuckles has not solved it by now. Surely, he knows what happens when have all 7 Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald.”

*Eggman pushes a button to raise the M.E. into the room and climbs onto it.*

Knuckles: “N-no… there’s been no record of this happening at all!”

Sonic: “Is he planning to transform?”

Eggman: “Bingo! You guys are an unstoppable force when you turn Super, so why don’t I turn the tables and use it against all of you!!”

*The Chaos Emeralds start to spin around him, slowly going faster and faster. Along with it, they and the Master Emerald start to glow brighter and finally release bursts of blinding light to everyone, transforming Eggman behind the glow. When it fades…*

Sonic: “Oh…”

Tails: “My…”

Knuckles: “Chaos…”

*Eggman chuckles as we see his bottom of his jacket flutters in an energetic breeze. His bushy mustache has grown a few inches, turned yellow, and is standing up more, but that is not the only change. His signature red jacket and black pants have bright cyan lines going up and down the fabric in a circuit-like pattern.*

Eggman: “So THIS is the power you guys never tell about? This is incredible! I wonder what I can do…”

*He notices Orbot and Cubot and heads over to them. As he does, they start sparking and their cyan eyes turn an evil red.*

Eggman: “I seem to have control of my robot creations. Attack, nincombots!”

*Cubot and Orbot bring out the shock prods and swing them at Sonic and the others, who jump back.*

Eggman: “Hah! I can control my minions with my mind! I can make my robot army attack you all at once!”

*Sonic home-attacks Orbot and Cubot, and they get knocked out of commission.*

Sonic: “You’re going to need better robots though. We’ve beaten your forces plenty of times!”

Eggman: “All at once?” 

*He chuckles. Some red-eyed dragoons in his control smash through the windows and grab up the 6 members. Sonic manages to escape his Dragoon’s clutches and lands on the main deck below.*

Looks like Eggman’s not kidding around anymore, is he? After we deliver a beatdown to Sonic’s Dragoon, we have only 4 minutes to chase and free everyone else from the clutches of their captors before they get flown away. It’s difficult and going to require plenty of homing attacks, but it is doable. With everyone back together…

Knuckles: “I didn’t even know humans could handle the power the Chaos Emeralds bring.”

Tails: “He’s way more powerful, and possibly invincible like us too. I don’t see how we can beat him.”

Bentley: “How much is… invincible here?”

Sonic: “For me, only something like a crusher or a grander force than my strength in that form can stop me. I don’t believe he’s too off the scales, but we don’t have anything that could hurt him in this state right now.”

Sly: “And how is it powered?”

Knuckles: “He would need lots of rings to keep in this form, but he does have the Master Emerald, so that makes having rings irrelevant as long as he’s close to it.”

Sly: “I think… I saw a casino room on the way through this ship, so I guess he has the rings to back it up too, huh?”

Tails: “Eggman always thinks of everything in moments like this…”

Sonic: “Don’t worry, buddy. We just got to steal back the Chaos Emeralds… with them in his superpowered possession… Shoot.”

Sly: “I can do it. He’s up there with Clockwerk and the others to steal, but I can handle it.”

Carmelita: “Seems like you’ll need a distraction then, Sly.”

*Just then, two loud honks are heard and the Cooper Van flies with its rockets over to the group.*

Murray: “Get in everyone! We’re going to stop them!”

Bentley: “This could work! If we distract Eggman’s robot army enough, Sly could be able to sneak up on Eggman unsuspectingly and get the Emeralds back!”

*Everyone slowly gets in, but Carmelita comes over to Sly and gives him her Shock Pistol.*

Sly: “H-huh? Why are you giving me this?”

Carmelita: “You might need it, Sly. I’m sure you can think of how to use it. I trust you enough with it.”

Sly: “... I’ll treat it as gently as possible.”

Carmelita: “I know you will, ringtail.” *She winks and kisses him on the cheek, a reverse ala Sly 1.* “Now go do what you do best.”

*She enters the van and Sly heads off to the Orca ship his own way as we take control of the Van.*

The Cooper Van controls like it did in the dream world, with the added bonus of having rockets to make it over the gaps in the airships, which don’t require any button presses at all. Just aim right and the jump will handle itself. As for our job right now, we’re going to pull Eggman’s attention to everyone in the van so Sly can do his sneaky stuff, which we will get to momentarily. Most of the small robots can just be rammed through without any damage to the Van, but the larger guards and robots will require firing the machine gun, piloted by Carmelita, to destroy them. A meter on the side will slowly rise the longer we keep destroying robots, and we’re aiming to get all the way to the top. With it full, the robots all converge around the van, thus leaving Eggman distracted.

*With a fade out, we cut to Sly, who has snuck aboard the Orca ship, right in the living area.*

We can notice that security has been beefed up since we last walked around these halls. Eggman has set up plenty of security cameras ready to fire a mess of bullets at anyone that enter their crosshairs and are painfully accurate at close range. Thankfully, Carmelita’s Shock Pistol can knock the cameras out of commission and allow us to continue. Guards and robots will be running by, and are ignorant of Sly from afar, but will engage him at close range and fail this part of the mission. We have to watch their patterns and dodge them accordingly. Our goal is the room we last left Eggman as he watches his robots gang up on the van.

Eggman, of course, set up trip lasers in the room, which both burn and will alarm the Doctor and fail the mission. We’ll have to jump sneakily over them and get as close as we can to him and pickpocket the Chaos Emeralds from Eggman. Success happens when they slide down the cane and onto Sly’s arm.

*The robot army’s eyes turn back to normal and the outside gang easily break them. Eggman slowly turns as the super form fades away.*

Dr. Eggman: “Well, well, you are truly a worthy adversary indeed, Sly Cooper.”

*Sly has moved the Chaos Emeralds to his neck.*

Sly: “I’ve dealt with others like you before, and have beaten them with the help of my friends.”

Eggman: “At least you’re being less corny about it than Sonic. But you haven’t won.”

Sly: “You aren’t invincible anymore, what more can you do?”

Eggman chuckles: “You don’t think I’ve studied the files on you, Sly? I know of your worst nightmare.”

Sly: “No… you didn’t…”

Eggman: “Well, I didn’t, but in another case… I did!!!”

*A screech of an owl is heard as what could be described as Eggman’s version of Clockwerk rams through the thunderheads below the ships and up to the crow’s nest of the Orca ship. Eggman jumps out the window and into the cockpit in the head of the beast.*

Eggman, in a similarly mechanical voice to Clockwerk’s: “Scarily accurate, isn’t it, Sly? Does it make you quake in your boots?”

*Sly gulps.*

Eggman: “It’s got all the weapons of what was the genuine article, and with my enhancements, none of your attacks will even put a scratch on it!”

*Sly’s hands quiver, noted by the cane shaking in his grip.*

Eggman: “I should thank you really. With this bird, I can take over the world with little effort at all! All thanks to the detailed notes of your little crew. Au revoir, Sly Cooper!”

*The Egg Clockwerk speeds off down into the dark clouds. At the same time, Sonic and the others come through the door.*

Carmelita comes over to Sly’s aid: “Sly… are you alright?”

Sly shivers at the new contact: “N-no.”

Tails puts a hand on Sly’s shoulder. “Eggman is a master at fear. He did all that to scare you. But, hearing about you, I’m sure you can overcome it.”

*Sly is still shaky.*

Bentley: “As your foster brother, you know we’ve dealt with the worst of the lot. People have preyed on us with fear, sadness, anger and more. But we’ve overcome it, Sly, with you being our rock all those times. I know you’re scared now, so we’re here for you.”

Murray: “Yeah! The Murray will support Sly even more than I’ve done before!”

Sly, a little less shaky: “T-thanks… guys… though… I feel terrible that I let Eggman have such a dangerous monster in his hands.”

Sonic: “Aw, don’t think that, Sly. We’ve had worse and they were literal gods of our worlds. We’ll be able to defeat Eggman’s machine, no problem.”

Knuckles: “Besides, Sonic’s committed some terrible mistakes of his own that he had to fix.”

Sonic: “Right… HEY!”

*Knuckles laughs, which spreads to the rest, and even Sly, cheering him up.*

Sly: “Heh, alright then… but how do we go about destroying it then? Last times took a machine gun, and a jet pack or a helicopter.”

Sonic: “Hmmm… I think he can go Super, can he, Knuckles?”

Knuckles: “I think so, with all the rings we collected, I’m feeling confident it boosted his Chaos enough to handle it. I think if he does it on the Master Emerald, like Eggman did, it might prevent him from… um… whatever might happen.”

Sly: “So I pretty much might explode from my newfound power… Sounds like a normal day of thieving for me.” *He chuckles.*

*Sly hops onto the Master Emerald, and all the Emeralds start to glow and shine like before. With a blast of light, Sly enters his superpowered form. The quickest thing to note would be that his fur is a little lighter grey and more bushier. Lightning bolts start appearing on his shirt, hat, and pants [Thank Chaos] and his aura crackles and flows like static as blue sparks flicker off it.

Sly: “I feel… powerful!”

Sonic: “Heh, that’s what going super does. Just make sure you catch any rings that appear out of thin air, they’ll keep this form going. Wouldn’t want to fall out of the sky.”

Sly: “Yeah. Anything else?”

Knuckles: “Just explore your powers, I think you’ll be quite surprised what you can do now.”

Sly: “Got it. Well, I better stop him.”

*Sly jumps out the window and his powers let him fly down into the cloud layer after Eggman.*

\-----

**Final Boss: The Egg Clockwerk**

  * Defeat the Egg Clockwerk.



Calling back to Doomsday Zone, the first part of the boss involves catching up to the Egg Clockwerk in the dark clouds. Plenty of lightning is striking in every direction, but thanks to Sly’s super form, they don’t hurt and slow him down only a little. What’s more important is gathering up tons of rings that are flying around as we speed up to Eggman. Collecting enough now can make dealing with Eggman easier since we wouldn’t have to both dodge and get rings. 

Now might also be a good time to learn about Sly’s new moves a bit. His cane swings now come with an electric after image, adding on an extra oomph in power. Pressing **Triangle** can charge it up to a higher level, **orange** then **cyan blue** , which allows Sly to spin around like an electric tornado for bigger damage, but using more rings. Pressing the **O button** near lightning can make Sly run along it like a certain speedy hedgehog and cover a lot of ground and avoid getting hit. Pressing the **X button** activates an **Electric Shield** sort of barrier that slows down Sly somewhat, but magnetizes all rings to him and perfectly protects him from damage.

Once we catch up…

Eggman: “Persistent little raccoon, aren’t you? I’ll put you out with the garbage like the trash rodent you are!”

Sly: “Not if I toss your rotten self out first!”

Eggman studied Clockwerk’s past attacks meticulously and made it all his own. Missiles are par for the robot, aiming right at us. They don’t hurt, but can knock us back unless we swing at or shield from them. If hit with a spin, they can be spun back to the machine to damage it a bit. After enough missile barraging, Eggman will have shock rings come out and push us backwards unless we hit the ring to rotate the charge outwards. At closer range, Eggman will make the robot swing its talons and flap its wings to push us away.

Just whack at the machine with extreme punishment, and watch the metallic body slowly chip and blow away. The loss of the talons makes rockets come out that drive the robot 25% faster, and losing the wings makes jet wings pop out that increase it to 50%. Destruction of the main body reveals a very strong metallic center with the Egg-Mobile piloting it.

Dr. Eggman: “Swing away all you want! You can’t even tarnish the metal!”

Sonic’s voice, brought through by the Master Emerald: “Finish him, Sly! Draw up the power and release it at the machine!”

Have Sly ride the lightning [ba dum tiss] for as long as he can. The charge will collect around him and grow in size, eventually causing the lighting to strike Sly and supercharging him. Pressing Square fires a giant lightning bolt, and aim it at the machine to explode off a layer of the strong panels. Do this two more times to leave the machine weak and give it a final, charged up smack to send Dr. Eggman’s capsule over the cloudy horizon.

Dr. Eggman: “CURSE YOU, SLY COOPEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!!!!!!” *Ding*

**JOB COMPLETE** *Super Sly victoriously twirls around in the air, then leaves the screen.*

\-----

**Conclusion** :

*Back with the others on the deck of the orca ship, Sly trades his super form over to Sonic, who goes and fixes Chaos Angel / Sky Sanctuary in a blur. At the same time, the gang pops the Master Emerald out of the command room and get it out onto the deck.*

Sly, narrating: “With Eggman’s defeat, I returned back to the ship to my friends. Sonic showed me how to transfer the form over to him, returning me to normal, and making him Super Sonic. All we could see was a golden blur repair Sky Sanctuary back together. Meanwhile, we got the Master Emerald out of Eggman’s ship.”

*The gang and the van gets transferred back to the ruins with the Master Emerald. Sonic destroys the tractor beams and get the ships out of the way. Sonic then returns and puts the Chaos Emeralds back where they belong and rejoins everyone.*

Sly, narrating: “Suddenly, we found ourselves transferred over to the altar with the van parked down the stairs and the Master Emerald replaced perfectly where it needs to be. We watched Sonic destroy the tractor beams and knock the Orca ship out of the way. And then, he blurred through the ruins and replaced the Chaos Emeralds in their correct spots before returning to us, blue once more.”

*The ruins rumble and shake, and with a flash, Angel Island teleports from the sea and reappears with the ruins, floating back slowly to where it needs to be, adrift.*

Sly, narrating: “We felt an earthquake on the ruins, and we thought we be knocked overboard, but we quickly saw Angel Island reform below us and felt the island shift in its own direction.”

*Skipping some time ahead to mid-morning, a GUN helicopter brings Rajan, General Tsao, El Jefe, and Mz. Ruby to the island in a large, rollable cage, which they attach to the van. The gang thank and apologize to Sonic and the others one last time before driving back through the portal that brought them here and getting to Interpol.*

Sly, narrating: “After spending one last night together with Sonic and his friends, a G.U.N. helicopter brought our villains in cages along and hooked them up to our van to get them back to the proper jail. We gave heartfelt goodbyes and apologies to Sonic and the others, who graciously hoped to see us on another adventure under better circumstances, us agreeing. We returned with villains in tow back to our own world and got them into Interpol custody again. Our adventure may be over, but we hoped we might visit some other time.”

\-----

And now, we come to the credits, the adventure over. But, wait! There’s more!

*Infinite is shown flashing out of G.U.N.’s prison, but by just a regular flash.*

Sonic, narrating: “Some time after the adventure, G.U.N. reported that Infinite disappeared in a white flash out of their secret prison. We’re not sure what happened, but expecting it to be Eggman’s doing is always a safe bet.”

*Rajan is shown talking to a therapist in his cell… and nearly hits them before getting zapped by a shock prod.*

Sly, narrating: “Rajan was given a therapist to try and fix whatever damage his persona did to his psyche. It’s slow going, and a whole lot of shock prods.”

*General Tsao tries to be the boss in prison, until he meets a very strong woman. She gives him his just desserts.*

Sly, narrating: “General Tsao tried to run the prison he was in like something he could control. It worked until a very strong and buff lady was sent into the same prison. Is it appropriate that the lady was called Karma B? I think so.”

*El Jefe is shown being extradited back to Cuba. He gets to smoke cigars but is stoned and trashed and made fun of. We are only shown a mild picture of El Jefe doing something incredibly anime.*

Sly, narrating: “After some government ‘bureaucracy’, he was extradited to Cuba and became a free tiger. He may get to smoke cigars freely again, but don’t worry, someone exposed him as a weeaboo to all of the country with a leaked video of him *ahem* dancing in his underwear to a girly anime song, and NO one is taking him seriously ever again.”

*Metal Sonic is shown fighting, and losing, yet another fight against Sonic.*

Sonic, narrating: “My metallic body double is still trying to one-up me, but it won’t happen today!”

*Mz Ruby is shown giving tarot card readings to inmates, making money off them, but every so often, she reads herself and gets bad luck with the guards taking the money back.*

Sly, narrating: “Mz. Ruby’s been making some quick coin in prison by giving readings to the other inmates, but she forgets that too much of a good thing always has consequences, as her readings always end with the guards taking her money away.”

*Illumina is shown controlling Maginiary Land, everything returned to normal.*

Sonic, narrating: “Illumina told me in my dreams that Maginary Land has reformed back to its natural glory and is running smoothly once more.”

*Dr. Eggman comes out of the wreckage of his robot, dusting himself off. He smiles, ready to get back to work.*

Sonic, narrating: “Eggface has gone into hiding again, but we know he’s still alive and kicking, planning his next schemes.”

*Sonic and his friends are shown running along a non-descript environment other than green hills.*

Sonic, narrating: “Thankfully, there are plenty of adventures to be had for me and my friends, and I’m excited for every minute of it.”

*Sly and his gang are shown working with Carmelita on another Interpol mission.*

Sly, narrating: “A master thief's job is never done, and spending it with Carmelita now feels all the more worthwhile. I wonder what our future will bring us next.”

~~FIN~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the end of the main story. But fret not as there are still all the Master Thief challenges to come. :D


	34. Master Thief Challenges: Episode 1

  1. **Clue Bottles In the City** : Everyone works together to search around the city in search of Clue Bottles to find a Key.
  2. **Metro Fighting** : Murray fights an influx of guards and badniks in the area, and smashing them all produces a Key for his troubles.
  3. **Flying High** : Tails flies around the skyscrapers below the road to find 4 machines to fix and open up a cage with a Key inside.
  4. **High Rise Sneak** : Sly enters one of the highrises from below and has to dodge guards and badniks and some good security to claim a Key at the top.
  5. **Digging Through The Trash** : Knuckles uses his treasure sense to find a discarded Key lost somewhere in the city.
  6. **House of the Future** : Bentley hacks into one of the more digitally locked down high rises to find a Key within it.
  7. **WANTED: Bruno the Bear** : Carmelita has to chase down a mobster bear rushing around in the dark streets below and defeat him before he escapes the city.
  8. **Sonic vs. Charmy** : The buzzing bee has found a Key by luck and wants Sonic to race him to win it.



**Master Thief Challenge #1: Clue Bottles In the City** : Accessed right above the safehouse, anyone is free to start the challenge as Clue Bottles fall from the sky all over the place. Whether Sly Cooper fans love it or hate it, they’re here to provide clues to the location of a valuable Key, one of 8 needed to open a safe with a sweet reward inside guaranteed to make our lives easier. But don’t expect them to be a cakewalk, since it usually requires a lot of each character’s skills to beat them all.

Of course, the Clue Bottles are the vain of most Sly veterans, driving people to madness with that  **_*CLINK! CLINK!*_ ** sound. Hey, at least that means the bottle is close! Just search high, low, in between and in things to score the sweet 30 bottles. And everyone is at our disposal, as they stay collected unless we actually leave the episode.

  * Clue Bottles 1-7: Found precariously perched on trees around the upper sections. Either climb the trees or hit the trees to knock it down and collect the bottle.
  * Clue Bottles 8-14: Climbing buildings will be key to grabbing these bottles as they hang around on windowsills and the like. They’re where Sly would climb, but Knuckles and Tails could snag these too. All are on buildings above the roads.
  * Clue Bottles 15-25: Heading down into the seedy underbelly, these bottles also hang around window sills and fire escapes for the sides of the buildings. Also helpful to have Sly, Knuckles, or Tails for these.
  * Clue Bottles 26-30: These aren’t garbage, but they are hiding around in garbage cans in the alleyways down in the darkness. Just listen for the sound and smack the can to get the bottle.



With all of them collected, Bentley calls on the binocucom, or mentions aloud if he’s the player:

Bentley: “Ahh! Aha! Requiring extensive use of trigonometry and other functions, I’ve deduced the Key to be in an alley in the seedy underbelly!”

A bright blue waypoint beacon guides us into an alley and to a strange mound of trash. Hit at it to toss the junk away and reveal the first Key on the pedestal.

KEY 1 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #2: Metro Fighting** : A special challenge for Murray appears near to where the floating factory was for Knuckles. In fact, as soon as the challenge starts, the factory suddenly appears in a blast of illusion cubes.

Murray: “W-whoa! I thought we got rid of the factory here? Why did it come back?!”

Tails: “Perhaps it’s a trap factory made by Infinite, held away by illusion cubes, and appeared now since he was captured.”

Murray: “I should go in there and stop production before it’s too late, huh?”

Bentley: “Yep, and there might be a useful reward perhaps in there.”

After breaking in through the front door, we are met by a near army’s worth of badniks and guards, as they spot Murray and start attacking. Most would find this uneven circumstances, but not the Murray. With abilities like his thunderflop and super strong punches that can send enemies flying into each other for mass destruction, nothing can stop him at all. Conquering the mighty challenge brings both a lot of rings and a key protected by a barrier. Defeating them all drops the barrier and lets us snag the key. Then, hurry on out of here and watch the factory poof back into illusion cubes once more.

KEY 2 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #3: Flying High** : Tails’ challenge begins down in the criminal paradise  near one of the ramps that connect the two floors and actually right next to a key, but it’s protected by a cage with four pneumatic locks.

Tails: “Hey, look! It’s a well guarded Key. I wonder if the security is because it opens something important.”

Bentley: “It’s highly likely. But those locks are pneumatic, very airtight. I would bet that if you find the machines that regulate the air, maybe you can open up the cage.”

With knowledge in hand, it’s time to find those machines, which are best followed by the guide of the tubes from the locks. They do sometimes disappear into buildings or go underground, but usually appear again someplace nearby. Eventually, the trail will end somewhere far away in the four corners of the city as we reach a machine short circuiting. It will take quite a bit of rewiring to fix everything that got messed up, but it’s doable with plenty of patience. With it fixed, press the button on top of the machine to make the machine whir and release one of the four locks. With all four released, the cage opens and we can snag the Key inside.

KEY 3 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #4: High Rise Sneak** : Sly has a challenge set up mainly for him down below at the lobby of a nice hotel, and entering starts the challenge.

Sly: “Hmm… my thieving senses tell me a Key is in here, but I’m also feeling an aura of protection.”

Bentley: “Your senses are acute and correct. Camera footage has plenty of guards, badniks and sweeping lasers and lights blocking the way.”

Sly: “Nice, a challenge. Wish me luck.”

The first few floors of the high rise offer us a feel of what to expect ahead from this challenge. There are plenty of guards patrolling back and forth through the hallway and their bedrooms, and unlucky for us, there is rarely a flashlight guard patrolling the hall. It will tend to be the smaller guards which can be much easier to spook and alarm them. And, as expected, setting off the alarm once will fail the challenge. Of course, we could kill every guard sneakily, but that might take WAY too long in some cases. Just remember the use of our skills and we’ll be making our way through in no time.

The middle floors take the guard routes and make them a bit tougher in the form of either flickering spotlights that turn on and off at 5 second intervals, lasers that zap or lasers that just block entirely. The detours mainly come from using the vents to navigate floors, and there MIGHT just be a lucky one that lets us climb up a few floors too. Just don’t open the vents with a guard in the room, as they need to be whacked open.

The higher floors add in a few more extra dangers in the form of pressure floors that spike an unsuspecting raccoon, and plenty of glass bottles, playing card structures and colored brick block structures that can easily fall over and alert the guards. Jumping would be the best idea, but remember not to jump too close to a smaller guard and spook them.

After this hard scenario, we are rewarded with the key prize in the penthouse. Take it, and leave through the glass sliding doors to finish the challenge on the upper streets.

KEY 4 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #5: Digging Through the Trash** : Don’t worry Sonic fans, the best/worst is yet to come. Knuckles’ challenge brings him to the upper park at the center of town.

Bentley: “I got good news and bad news.”

Knuckles: “Alright, let’s hear the good news first.”

Bentley: “I have found a Key in this city that would be very useful to find.”

Knuckles: “Nice!... So what’s the bad news?”

Bentley: “The bad news is that it’s really hard to get and might require quite a few of your skills. And… uh… you can’t find the Key directly. You’ll need to find my hint monitors to discover it.”

Knuckles: “Oh… well, alright. I can do that.”

Bentley: “But, uh… the guards took them and moved them from my positions so I have no idea where the monitors are either.”

Knuckles: “Oooh boy… fine. I’ll just sense those out first then.”

Sly: “Don’t worry, big red, he does this to me too sometimes.”

And so starts a treasure hunt to find a Key, but it was never going to be as easy as A to B. Nope, there’s always a catch, in the form of Bentley’s Hint Monitors that got scattered when guards found them. Only they know the place of the key in this massive place. But don’t fret, Knuckles’ treasure sense can find those monitors. 3 monitor symbols on the bottom slowly brighten the closer we get to one of them, and become fully colored once we read the hint with the  **O button** .

For here in the city, one monitor can be found hidden in the park, where we’d have to dig next to a tree to the west.

Hint Monitor #1: “It’s a place that was thoroughly destroyed before.”

For the second, Knuckles will have to climb around the high rises below to find the monitor on a lone windowsill to the north.

Hint Monitor #2: “Scraped badniks sleep here.”

And for the third, it’s actually found in the alley behind the bar where we saved Carmelita.

Hint Monitor #3: “Time to dig through a large pile of scrap.”

With all the hints, they guide us straight towards the area of the destroyed factory Murray destroyed, towards the junkyard mess in the back. Hidden in a large pile of broken robots lies the key, which is just a dig away. Getting it out finishes the challenge.

KEY 5 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #6: House of the Future** : Bentley isn’t going to be left out of the challenge as he rolls up to a high rise from a penthouse suite that has a swiveling security camera on watch.

Bentley: “Hmmm… I have a feeling there’s a Key in here if this is the security at the entrance.”

Tails: “It’s highly likely. Think you can handle it?”

Bentley: “Easier than transferring an electron from a negative to a positive field.”

After dodging the sweeping sight of the camera, the inside of the building confirms some suspicions as there are laser grids, cameras both stationary and moving, and moving searchlights to round out the danger. The searchlights are not much more difficult than their non-moving counterparts, and the lasers are standard blocking and shocking affairs. The cameras are a bit more difficult however, since we don’t get to see out of them to make it a bit more difficult. The cameras do have faint yellow search cones and target reticles when they fire so it’s not totally impossible to miss. If spotted, security will be heighted, making the lasers burn and the lights and cameras spray bullets where we once were, so keep on the move.

As for the floors, the first one after the secure penthouse is a pool, which is clear and can be used to circumvent the lasers if it ends up being too much difficulty. But remember that no character can breathe forever except with a Bubble Shield. The next floor down is a game room with billiards tables, slots and casino tables akin to Muggshot’s Casino. Cameras and lasers are tighter in here, making it more difficult to dodge. Following is a floor full of exercise equipment, making for some very tight rows to move through unless we jump over the equipment and possibly into some bullets. Lower still is a photography studio with plenty of lighting bulbs doubling as security warners. It might be best to just rush through this room entirely. And finally, at the ground floor, is a bar with the Key we need on a hook before the door outside. Just be cautious of the glass bottles and cameras on watch. With the Key in hand, we can leave and finally finish the challenge outside.

KEY 6 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #7: WANTED: Bruno the Bear** : Time for Carmelita to have her spotlight challenge as she makes her way to a G.U.N. office to the southwest side of the city.

G.U.N. Officer: “Ah, Tails told us you’d be arriving soon. We could use some help.”

Carmelita: “I’m an Ace agent, no one will escape me. Who is your target?”

*G.U.N. Officer operates a nearby monitor and it shows a big brown bear in a suit and smoking a cigar.*

G.U.N. Officer: “Our target is Bruno the Bear, a rotund bear that is the head honcho of the criminal activities down below. Now that Infinite is gone, he became the leader and has been robbing people blindly and even took down the weaker organizations.”

Carmelita: “You guys seem more well equipped than I am. Why can’t you guys do it?”

G.U.N Officer: “We would, but he’s always moved on to a different place when we mobilize. And also, he’s quite massive and bullets seem to have no effect.”

Carmelita: “So you think me, a quick lady with a shock pistol has a better chance?”

G.U.N. Officer: “With your record we heard from Tails, it seems to be the perfect choice. Plus, we have found a Key possibly belonging to them that we’re willing to give to you in exchange.”

Carmelita: “Fair enough. I’ll have that bear bagged soon.”

G.U.N. Officer: “Just don’t let him leave the city boundaries. If he does, he’ll easily go back into hiding again.”

After talking to the G.U.N. Officer, a waypoint appears down below, coming from the northern bar. No need to be sneaky as the wanted bear comes out and it is at least 3 times taller than Carmelita, and much rounder.

Carmelita: “Freeze, criminal!”

Bruno: “A petite lady like you thinks you have a chance against me? Well, see here, I think you don’t have a chance. WHOA!”

*She fires a warning shot at the bear, who can barely dodge it.*

Carmelita: “Now you see here. I’m going to take you down.”

Bruno: “I gotta get out of here!”

And so, the chase begins in a format quite similar to Carmelta’s segments in Sly 3, in that she can run and stay in a third person view to shoot non-stop. Bruno totes his own gun which sprays bullets in lines, but constant moving should make it dodgeable. The bear’s huge size also lets him make shockwaves every time he jumps, which don’t hurt, but will leave Carmelita stunned long enough to get shot and hurt. Other than that, the bear is large enough that the Shock Pistol cannot stun the bear or stop him, but it does still damage him. Charged shots are also useful to knock off bigger chunks of health, but be wary of the bullets. He takes such a path that he runs to each off the bars before making a last minute run to the south of the city, which fails the mission if he passes it. But, with constant attack, the bear will come tumbling down.

Bruno: “No… I was supposed to win, see…”

Carmelita: “Don’t ever think you can win against a fox.”

The G.U.N. truck arrives and they push the bear into a cage, and the officer gives Carmelita the Key for the trouble, finishing the challenge.

KEY 7 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #8: Sonic Vs. Charmy** : The speed limit breaker’s challenge may be a bit of a surprise for folks as he meets his fellow friend Charmy at a greenhouse to the northeast.

Sonic: “Hi, Charmy. What are you doing here?”

Charmy: ♪ “Oh? Hi Sonic! I’m here enjoying the Beeautiful flowers they planted in the greenhouse.” ♫

Sonic sneezes a bit after pollen touches his nose. “I never found the appeal much. And it messes with my hay fever.”

Charmy: ♪ “Awww, sorry about your allergies. Maybe I can make it up to you?” ♫

Sonic sneezes again. “How so?”

Charmy: ♪ “Well… I found this!” *He shows a shiny Key.* “One of the guards had it and I snatched it off of them.”♫

Sonic: “Oh? We’re searching for those.”

Charmy: ♪ “However… I’m not going to give it to you.” ♫

Sonic: “Huh? Why not?”

Charmy: ♪ “Come on, Sonic. You know what we want.” ♫

Sonic: “A… race?”

Charmy: ♪ “Yeah! You get to race with some of the other guys, I want a turn!” ♫

Sonic: “Well, I suppose I could use a challenge. Let’s do it then.”

Bringing back another gameplay mechanic from Sonic Adventure, and probably one more loved, Sonic has to race his friend for a Key they found. Of course, his buddies have their own sets of skills to give them an edge against pure speed. In Charmy’s case, besides flying, he can warp using purple flowers to close some distance. He might even pop up right in front of us as a surprise. The race is measured by the use of Checkpoint Markers, which just need a touch to activate and start the next leg. There are usually plenty of ways to reach them, the easiest and sometimes fastest using badniks as step stones.

From the greenhouse, the first stop is a Checkpoint Marker on the fountain in the center of the park, which should be easy to jump through. Out of the park, it’s time to hop over roofs or zig zag fast across the streets to the second marker in front of the safehouse. Then the speed ramps up literally as we go down the access ramp to the seedy underbelly and the third checkpoint. From there, Sonic might find it a bit easier to home attack the badnik lines to reach the fourth checkpoint marker on the roof of the destroyed factory. Finally, the last marker and the goal is at Infinite’s bar, which has plenty of alleyways and low buildings to get around fast. It’s best to be fast here, and makes it anyone’s race.

If Charmy wins the race:

Charmy: ♪ “YAHOO! I did it! I beat Sonic! I must be the fastest thing alive now!” ♫

Sonic chuckles softly: “Heh, don’t be getting too airheaded about it, Charmy.”

Charmy: ♪ “I know! I’m just kidding. Let’s race again, maybe you’ll win this time!” ♫

If Sonic wins the race:

Sonic: “Heh, fastest thing alive AND still number 1.”

Charmy: ♪ “Aww, I lost. Heh, but what should I have expected when racing against you? Here’s the key.” ♫

Sonic: “Thank you. See ya around!”

KEY 8 GET

\--

_ Ultimate Reward Location _ : A safe found in the bar Infinite held Carmelita at. Just head down a different hall to an office to find it.

_ Ultimate Reward: Shock Pistol Duo _ [Description: Double the guns for double the damage, what more could you want for Carmelita?]


	35. Master Thief Challenges: Episode 2

  1. **Clues in the Ruins** : Everyone searches for Clues scattered high and low on this Rhino temple to find the Key.
  2. **Ruin Crackdown** : Murray delivers some big hurt on an influx of badniks and guards trying to reclaim this temple in the now-tarnished name of Rajan and the Key they hold.
  3. **Temple of Gloom** : Tails flies around the head of the Rhino Temple, fixing machines to find a Key deep inside.
  4. **Oooooohm** : Sly has to keep extra quiet with guards meditating and alerted at the most sudden noise to find a Key they have.
  5. **Mounds of Treasure** : Knuckles heads into the golden maze area to find the Key lost among the treasure.
  6. **Rajan’s Secret** : Hacking around Rajan’s palace, Bentley can find a Key the dastardly tiger has hidden somewhere.
  7. **WANTED: Richard the Rhino** : Carmelita has to bag a Poacher Rhino (How Ironic) prowling around before he escapes the area.
  8. **Sonic Vs. Rouge** : The bat found herself a Key among the treasures and will race with Sonic to give it to him.



**Master Thief Challenge #1: Clues in the Ruins** : The Clue Bottle mission can be found right behind the safehouse, and their familiar sounds start ringing out in the darkness. Perhaps in comparison to Episode 1, they tend to be more out in sight. Knuckles might be the best choice for getting them all.

  * Clue Bottles 1-10: Easily scattered around the abandoned village. Some might be on roofs, others on poles, and maybe a few end up on balconies between floors.
  * Clue Bottles 11-25: Can be found most anywhere on the Rhino temple. Check around the top of the head, the arm areas, the open center, around the feet and a few may be in the secret treasure room.
  * Clue Bottle 26-30: Around Rajan’s palace. Check around the roof and his backyard area.



Bentley: “This prize better be good for how much Calculus I had to do. I barely figured it out! *Ahem* Anyways, the Clue Bottles suggest to head to the hill where we destroyed Rajan’s spice operation.”

Once we hoof it over there, the Key can be found under some metal awnings next to a destroyed machine.

KEY 1 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #2: Ruin Crackdown** : Murray heads into the open area of the destroyed spice operation to start his challenge.

Bentley: “This is not good, this is not good at all!”

Murray: “What’s wrong?”

Bentley: “There are tons of enemies coming your way, most likely the guards who helped Rajan who escaped and didn’t break out of their trance! And they’re being led by badniks too!”

Murray: “What’s worrying about that? I can handle beating some sense back into them.”

Bentley: “O… Oh… Yeah. Well, then try not to kill anyone then.”

Murray: “Don’t worry! I’m in my element!”

Guards and badniks will slowly make their way up the hill in low numbers at first, but it will gradually become more crowded as time goes on. Tossing the billiard balls might be a good option to really knock out a line of enemies. It might be best to not get trapped near the broken machines, although climbing on them might help to get enemies apart. When the last of them get defeated, the final one drops the Key we need, and collecting it finishes the Challenge.

KEY 2 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #3: Temple of Gloom** : The two tailed fox’s challenge leads him to fly on top of the Rhino temple but this time there is no key.

Tails: “Hmm… I thought I’d just be hearing the wind up here, but I’m also hearing this weird clanking noise, like broken machinery.”

Bentley: “I am getting mechanical waves from the head of the temple. Maybe something is going on in there?”

Tails: “Only one way to find out.”

With a short flight down into the mouth of the rhino, the inside provides a surprise with plenty of gears on rods that would be kept moving by water, but someone had moved the large, turning wheels out of the way

Tails: “Huh… there’s so many gears here. I wonder if they are what would make turning the walls below easier. But they look broken… I wonder if I pushed that water wheel back into place…”

Tails is too weak to push it directly, but he can use his weight instead to push down on the paddles and send it back in the other direction. Once it’s back into place, it will turn on its own and let the other gears spin again. There is one other paddle wheel that needs to be fixed in the same way to the back of the area. However, things don’t feel finished just yet...

Heading up higher, around the brain of this temple is a glass dome and inside are lots of tubes that allow the water flow around to the right spot to move the paddle wheels. But it seems someone or something misaligned the pipes, so the water is not flowing as well now. At least they do have a primitive claw machine that is controlled like past claw machines. Just grab them and turn the pipes and place them back down to slowly make everything right again. It’s all fixed when all four water wheels are getting the proper amount of water.

With all of these working again, a wall towards the back of the head opens and a Key on a pedestal sits as our reward. The challenge is done with it collected.

KEY 3 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #4: Oooooohm** : Sly’s challenge starts right outside the entrance into the temple as Bentley offers some insight.

Bentley: “It looks like the guards are taking a meditation break. I’d be cautious Sly, it might make them more sensitive to anyone sneaking by.”

Sly: “Not like that’s ever stopped me. I’ll just make sure I’m as quiet as they are.”

After making our way into the central area of the temple, a Key glistens on the table in the center of the area, but it’s surrounded on all sides by the smaller guards in their meditative stances. And worse, besides being tightly sitting together, they are also hearing Sly’s footsteps if he gets close. Thankfully, there is more than just the direct route, as there are vines to let us climb up along the ceiling instead. Sometimes, Sly will have to use the hanging lights with their hooks to swing ahead, or use wall hooks to fling himself ahead along the walls. We make our progress, getting closer and closer to the key, arriving after a few more hook jumps. Snag the key and use the new hooks ahead to fling ourselves out the cave and finish the challenge.

KEY 4 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #5: Mounds of Treasure** : The red echidna’s challenge leads him through the temple and down into the treasure room Murray dealt with for a job.

Bentley: “I am certain the Key you want is in this room, but the enemies in here stole my monitor hints again and I think they put them in dead ends in the maze.”

Knuckles: “No sweat, at least I can climb the walls if I get lost.”

With our good luck, at least the area we are searching in is the more manageable sized maze, and as stated by Knuckles, the gold walls are soft enough for him to dig in and climb up them. And with the use of the radar going brighter the closer we are to a monitor, they should be pretty easy to find.

The first monitor can be found at the dead end of a path to the northwest of the maze, that needs to be dug out of a pile of coins.

Hint Monitor #1: “The pile of treasure the Key is in would be quite a payday!”

The second is found in the area of where the second treasure was found, actually on the pedestal.

Hint Monitor #2: “It’s near the second Riddle’s treasure.”

And the third is found right in the middle area where the Mystical Power orb sits, the monitor floating right nearby.

Hint Monitor#3: “Big piles of money can be quite hollow.”

With all hints collected, their triangulation leads us straight to the largest treasure pile in the room, digging into it leads us into a small alcove with the Key. The challenge is done with it collected.

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #6: Rajan’s Secret** : It’s a quiet roll up to Rajan’s palace, and near to the front doors to find our challenge for Bentley.

Tails: “Rajan’s Palace might be a good place to find a Key, since it hasn’t been explored thoroughly.”

Bentley: “Exactly what I was thinking. But I’m wondering where…”

Heading into the palace lead us through some newly opened doors in the main hall out to the back area, where a long pool resides and more buildings, perhaps for the guards. The closest one appears to be their living area, the further building for working cameras, fences and other security, and the last one where they have their weapons and a badnik producer and it looks to be a glimmer of a Key in there. However, it looks like we have to tackle each area one at a time to get in there.

Although Bentley is not known for stealth, it might be a smart idea not to awaken the guards too early, as some are sleeping and would mean less fighting for Bentley. And also, one of the sleeping guards in the bedroom has a keycard we need to enter the security building, but don’t fret if they do awake, it will just be put into a nearby drawer instead. The guards on patrol are drowsy and don’t notice Bentley as long as he doesn’t get too close. It’s probably too late to mention this, but Bentley can use his sleep darts to knock out guards if need be, by pressing  **Square** on his binocucom. After getting through their living area, kitchen, long hall and bedroom, snag the Red key card needed to enter the next building and get out.

From there, use the card at the front door of the security building to unlock the doors and let us inside. In here, guards monitor the halls in a circular fashion, so just follow along behind a guard to avoid being spotted. Along the way, we pass the door for the munitions dump, which has a key card lock as well. Continuing on, it might be a nice idea to knock out the guards, since they operate security between this building and into the next, but it requires the utmost quiet defeats or they’ll be alerts and shut their doors, so they’d have to be broken in by blowing up the glass with a few bombs. Once again, alerting the guards too soon will deny us a chance to pickpocket the duo Blue and Yellow keycards from some big guards handling the security cameras. If they are alerted, their keys will be put in drawers around their desk area. Whatever happens, with cards in hand, we can use the Blue keycard to move on to the electric fence maze outside. Unless, of course, all the guards were knocked off, then we can easily get on by to the munitions dump with the Yellow keycard.

Inside the weapons building are most of the guards and badniks, especially the big ones lurking about. Every turn is guaranteed to have Bentley be spotted and shot/hit on sight. It would seem to be impossible to escape in one piece, but now might be a wise time to look up high. There are plenty of bombs, fireworks and more explosive material just hanging out from the open boxes on top, and if we sniped them down, anyone below is going to have a bad day. Just keep knocking them down, and we’ll soon blow up everyone destroy a badnik producer in the process with a whole box of them. And a bit further ahead from there, we’ll find the elusive Key and the door out to finish the mission with a bang.

KEY 6 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #7: WANTED: Richard the Rhino** : Carmelita heads to the east of the village to find a military tent and her challenge, where our G.U.N. Officer friend comes out.

G.U.N. Officer: “Agent Carmelita.”

Carmelita: “Officer… hmm, I don’t think you ever said your name. I do like knowing the people I work with.”

G.U.N. Officer: “Oh! Terribly sorry.” *He salutes.* I’m Captain Isaiah, and I run this region’s plays. Once again, thank you for helping us capture Bruno.”

Carmelita: “Nothing to it. I have a feeling my services could be useful here again?”

Officer Isaiah: “Yes, our target today is Richard the Rhino.” *A picture of him appears on the nearby monitor.* “With Rajan captured, it seems this lower scum decided to take over, in the most ironic way.”

Carmelita: “How so?”

Officer Isaiah: “Before this, he, ironically, was a poacher of other animals to make his money. But now that he commands these guards, his lowers are a sort of ‘farm’ to him now since he could claim their incompetence at any time and poach them.”

Carmelita: “Hmm, I see how it can be both ironic and useful to everyone.”

Officer Isaiah: “Well, since most of these guards are actually innocents, it’s about time we stop Richard before it’s too late.”

Carmelita: “No problem, I should be able to handle them.”

G.U.N. Officer Isaiah: “Reports from a lesser guard says he’s coming out of hiding from Rajan’s palace soon, so hurry over there. Good luck, and we’ll give you the Key we have once he’s captured. And don’t let him escape past the lower hills.”

A waypoint glows bright from the entrance of Rajan’s palace, and a hop, skip and a jump later, we are met by the world’s most massive Rhino, talking with the flair of the rich and snobby.

Richard: “Hmph, so you’re the agent sent out to stop me? In those rags and a sorry excuse for a gun? Puh-lease, you’d need a high level of fashion sense to even- GAH!!”

*He barely missed a shot, the electricity crackling on the door.*

Carmelita: “Once you’re captured, you’re going to be put in the nicest… UGLIEST prison orange jumpsuit they got.”

Richard: “Not today!”

Do the rich think they can just buy themselves out of jail? Probably, but Carmelita sure isn’t going to let this fool get away with it. The chase this time might be a bit easier since the halls and open areas are narrower for the massive Rhino, but he’s certainly not making it so. Considering how huge he is, his charge is a lot more devastating if it connects, and requires giving him plenty of space to dodge. He can also toss multiple daggers from afar, but they are much easier to avoid. It will take quite a lot of electricity to finally bag the Rhino, though it is still  doable before he escapes the village.

Richard: “N-no!.... Nothing should have touched me…”

Carmelita: “Money can’t save you now. You’re off to prison for good.”

The G.U.N. truck and some soldiers drag Richard into a cage and take him away in the truck, and the Officer gives Carmelita the Key.

KEY 7 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #8: Sonic Vs. Rouge** : Sonic’s challenge leads him to the palace grounds around the treasure room, where a bat quietly tries to sneak away.

Sonic: “What shiny object are you stealing this time, Rouge?

Rouge fakes surprise: “My, don’t you know it’s unfair to scare a young lady like this, hero?”

Sonic rub his nose: “Not when said young lady is a thief that has worked with us before. Heh.”

Rouge: “Fair enough. How is that self proclaimed Master Thief doing with you guys anyways?”

Sonic: “Heh, he MIGHT be a better thief than you with his skills.”

Sly, through the Binocucom: “Thank you.”

Sonic: “But I think he’s pretty much a noob in romance. Heh.”

Sly, through the binocucom: “Hey! I resent that remark!”

Carmelita, through the binocucom: “I don’t know, Sonic’s right on the nose.”

Rouge chuckles: “You always know the right things to say to please a woman, don’t ya, blue boy? You really want that Key I stole.”

Sonic: “That’s kinda the point.”

Rouge: “I might be willing to give it up… for a race.”

Sonic: “I have a feeling I know the reason why.”

Rouge: “Just a little competition… and maybe a bit of embarrassment.”

Sonic: “Heh, you’ll be the one embarrassed.”

The race against Rouge is similar to Charmy’s race with her powers to fly making her be able to avoid the bumpiness of the terrain, but at least with some cave sections might allow us to catch up. Her big skill, however, is tossing bombs behind her as she continues ahead, which means we can’t stay directly behind her unless we want to be covered in soot and stunned for a couple seconds, giving her a big lead. Just remember to give her a big enough space to avoid being bombed.

As for the Checkpoint Markers, from the start at the palace, the first goes down the arm of the temple into the main area with the marker in the middle. From here, we got to climb up the other arm with the use of badniks, the walls easily turning for us to pass them by to the second Marker on the other hand. From here, we double back into the arm and to the main area for the third Checkpoint, which then leads us out into the village itself for the fourth checkpoint in the middle of the Square. And then, from there, the final checkpoint is at the mess of the Spice machines as our finish line.

If Rouge wins the race:

Rouge: “Yes!! I won! I’m SO going to brag this in front of Shadow’s face.”

Sonic facepalms: “Oh Chaos, he’s never going to let me live it down.”

Rouge: “Indeed he won’t, Not-Fastest-Thing-Alive… but I’m a good sport and willing for a rematch.”

If Sonic wins the race:

Sonic: “Hah ha! I STOLE the race from you.”

Rogue: “And made a bad pun in the process, bluey. Don’t change. Here’s the Key.”

Sonic: “Heh he, thanks.”

KEY 8 GET!

\--

_ Ultimate Reward Location _ : In Rajan’s Palace, actually right behind his desk. Just attack the ugly painting of him to find it in a secret room with plenty of rings.

_ Ultimate Reward: Vulcan Gun, Anti Air Missile and Mines _ [Descriptions: 3 different weapons that the T-Pup can have added on to attack enemies with. The Vulcan Gun allows for front firing, the Anti Air Missile for enemies in the air and for long range attacks and Mines for down below.]


	36. Master Thief Challenges: Episode 3

  1. **Chinese Clue Style** : Everyone searches for clue bottles strewn around the landscape.
  2. **Hippo Martial Arts** : Murray cleanses the village of a large number of Guards and badniks to earn a Key.
  3. **Accommodating Chip** : Tails enters the Gaia Temple and helps Chip repair some machines to make the landscape more habitable again.
  4. **Robbing a Palace** : Sly deals with the lost guards of Tsao and badniks too to steal a Key they have locked away.
  5. **Knuckles of Earth** : Knuckles digs around in the dirt around the palace for a lost Key.
  6. **Turtle Fishing** : Bentley fishes around the water for levers to unlock a room in a riverside pagoda to find a Key.
  7. **WANTED: Tibor the Tiger** : The boss tiger in control of the guards has come out and Carmelita has to knock him out before he can escape the mountains for good.
  8. **Sonic Vs. Vector** : The cash croc has found a Key from the water and is willing to give it up in a race with Sonic.



**Master Thief Challenge #1: Chinese Clue Style** : Our Clue Bottle mission starts right on the road leading up to the village, and 30 magnificent bottles fall from the sky and litter the surrounding area for collection. Tails might be a good choice since most of the bottles are just a flight away for him.

  * Clue Bottles 1-12: Scattered high and low among the mountain path. A few are also as low as the river pagodas.
  * Clue Bottles 13-24: Can be found on rooftops, hidden in vases, in some homes, or precariously on statues.
  * Clue Bottles 25-30: A few are around the roof, but the rest are around the gardens.



With all of them collected, Bentley tells us the good news.

Bentley: “Pfft, this was just the clue in binary code, doable in my sleep! The key looks to be in the fountain in the center of the village. Perhaps hitting might cause something to appear?”

The fountain in the center of the village seems to be suffering from low water pressure, and there is a nearby knob that can be hit a few times to turn up the pressure and make the Key fly out to our hands.

KEY 1 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #2: Hippo Martial Arts** : The pink hippo’s challenge takes him into the village square.

Murray: “I have a feeling I’m being watched.”

Bentley: “My computer scans suggest there might be a lot of guards and badniks hiding around in the various homes.”

Murray: “I’ll just start cleaning house then.”

The enemies here, one could say, are a little bit smarter for not coming straight for the Murray this time… but then again, they were never smart to begin with. They’re split into the various homes, thinking they can ambush Murray with a surprise attack. But maybe they should have stayed away from the doors as a strong punch to them will make the doors swing back hard and knock out most of the guards inside for easy pickings of defeat. Even without doing that, it shouldn’t be too much trouble to defeat the enemies anyways. With all of them defeated, a Key flies out of one of the last guards to win the challenge.

KEY 2 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #3: Accommodating Chip** : The Gaia Temple is our challenge location for Tails to enter, and once inside, we head on over to the altar and Chip appears.

Chip: “Oh! Hi Tails!”

Tails: “Hi, Chip. How is everything?”

Chip: “Not good. After what General Tsao’s forces did to my temple, I worry for the safety of the villagers and further worshippers once they return. And, being a spirit...”

Tails: “Aw, don’t worry about it, Chip, I’ll fix it all up for you! Just bring up the machines if you would, please?”

Chip: “Oh! Sure. Hang on.”

*Chip returned into his altar, and the sound of clicking is heard as the temple rearranges its walls and floors around, showing machines on the fritz.*

Chip: “You sure you can handle this?”

Tails: “I’m not a master mechanic for nothing. I got this.”

There are 12 machines that are not working, 3 to each area, all of which require Tails’ rewiring  skills to fix up. The machines in question do regulate a lot of things that keep the environment in the temple in check, and they are ‘defending’ themselves with the mess they’re making. Keeping on our toes is key as they malfunction, paying attention to how to avoid them.

Over on the icy side, one of them is firing off large snowballs that either roll down the slope or fire them high to land unsuspectingly, unless we watch the shadow. Pay attention to the direction of the hose to dodge accordingly. Another machine shoots ice crystals in waves that must be either jumped or ducked under, so watch the firing mechanism for where. And the other blows cold water in moving waves to freeze anything it contacts, so keep moving for that unless we want to become an ice cube.

On the fire side, a machine is blasting large fireballs high and low like the snowball machine and another is firing smaller fireballs in waves like the ice machine. And the third is tossing fire like a flamethrower in waves. All of them require a keen eye to dodge and not get burned on.

On the earth side, one machine is spewing mud in pits and on us, which slows us down and requires jumping out of or spinning it off. Another is alternating between rolling large rocks and tossing them high to land on us. Both are dangerous, but watch that the falling rock will splinter and toss sharp rock shards farther off for extra damage. The third likes to bang the ground hard and cause shockwaves to stun us to slow us down, which can also affect us during refixing the machine.

And on the electric side, one machine is sending out electricity in high and low waves, requiring some good dodging for less shocking. Speaking of less shocking, the next machine has electrified water puddles all along the way around the machine and there are very little places or things to stand on to avoid a shock. And the third machine, it is sending out electric blasts that are impossible to dodge unless we hide behind solid cover. This one does warn when it will fire with a few zap sounds before then, and yes, it can hurt while Tails is rewiring, but cover is at lease nearby.

With all of the machines fixed, head back to Chip at the altar.

Chip: “Oooohhh! They’re all like new again!”

Tails: “Nothing to it! You’re welcome, Chip.”

*The walls and floors flip back to their original sides.*

Chip: “I got to reward you for this… but all I got is this Key a Tsao guard left behind.” *A key sparkles in his hands.*

Tails: “That’ll do, Chip! Thank you!”

Chip: “You’re welcome! Come back again!”

KEY 3 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #4: Robbing a Palace** : The master thief’s challenge starts as soon as he opens the door to enter the palace. Inside, the patrols have been stepped up, along with badniks and plenty more pot alarms.

Sly: “Hmm, someone doesn’t want us to get at what they are hiding in here. Must be really important.”

Bentley: “Be careful Sly, some of those pots have tripwires to alert the guards just in case.”

Sly: “It’s nothing I haven’t handled before.”

Compared to Bentley’s trip through the palace, it’s definitely harder. Not only do we not have sleep darts to put guards to nap, but some pots have some, quite obvious by the way, tripwires that will certainly alert the guards once they are hit and fail the challenge. Along with the smaller guards on patrol and a few badniks in well-placed spots, this could be quite a tough one. 

However, this is Sly we are talking about, and someone forgot to take the hooks off the chandeliers, which can let us swing over hallways and rooms. And there are plenty of climbable and Ninja spire objects to let us get up to the ceiling and dodge stuff that way. In fact, the lavishness works in our favor to play the world’s strangest game of ‘The Floor is Lava’ with how much stuff is around. Just be a little cautious that the metallic objects do make some noises and can bring over a nearby guard to check it out. Though, that might be a good thing as we change floors since we have to climb the stairs normally, into a possible guard route.

Our location we are heading to is what used to be General Tsao’s room, now only patrolled by guards. And, lucky for us, there are no pots. So kick some guard butt, steal the key and be out of the room in no time. And just like Tsao did during Bentley’s mission, we can easily hop down to the first floor from here and sneak through the hall to get out and finish the challenge.

KEY 4 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #5: Knuckles of Earth** : Over at the garden area around the palace lies Knuckles’ challenge in waiting.

Bentley: “How are these guards finding my monitors? I don’t get it, I lose them as soon as I get a lock on the Key.”

Knuckles: “Eh, don’t sweat it too much, turtle. This is good practice for me to get back into the treasure hunting game. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until now.”

Bentley: “Well, thank you for understanding. It seems they decided to hide them better around here, I think.”

Knuckles: “No problem at all.”

Once again, our search radius is short, taking up the area around the palace up to the front gates of the Gaia Temple. And as stated by Bentley, none of them are out in the open this time. Instead, they will mostly be found by digging in the dirt, or are found in bushes and trees that need to be hit to release the monitor.

The first monitor can be found in the flower garden around the western side of the palace, and we can see where it’s buried not only by the scanner, but also by there being a missing flower in the perfect rows.

Hint Monitor #1: “It’s time to set sail.”

The second is found stuck in the branches of the blossoming trees on the eastern side of the palace, notable for having its fruit on the ground.

Hint Monitor #2: “Something hides in this cave.”

And the third is quite close to the praying statue for the Gaia Phoenix, the monitor shoved into some bushes that glow mysteriously with its lights.

Hint Monitor #3: “Climb the walls to find this Key.”

The hints lead us into the cave where we found the boat for the gang to use to go down the river. As directed, we should stick to the wall and start climbing up to find a secret alcove, which has the Key shining brightly.

KEY 5 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #6: Turtle Fishing** : Bentley’s challenge takes him down the mountain path to the various fishing piers and pagodas on the river.

Tails: “Is it just me, or does it feel like there’s more of the riverside area we haven’t checked yet?”

Bentley: “I was thinking the same thing. I think we’ve just been sneaking around the outside. I wonder if their might be a way inside.”

A waypoint appears at the nearby dock, with fish quietly swimming by. There doesn’t seem much to notice, except for a strange lever.

Bentley: “Huh? What is that lever for at the river bottom? Hmm… I wonder if my fishing pole I use for pickpocketing could reach it.”

*The collective fanbase of Sonic get ‘Nam flashbacks to Big’s Fishing mechanics from Sonic Adventure 1* NO, wait, COME BACK!! It’s not all that bad! It’s not even fishing, per se! All we got to do is guide the magnet as it drops down in the water, avoiding fish swimming by and rocks at the bottom and attach the magnet to the lever. Once it DINGS with attachment, we just roll Bentley backwards to turn the lever over and make it click. When it does, the camera shows one of the pagoda walls moving aside and letting us in to the quieter sanctums.

Sonic, over the binocucom: “You’re pretty handy with that fishing pole.”

Bentley: “Thanks. I got a lot of practice stealing from guards with it. Turns out fishing is about the same.”

Sonic, over the binocucom: “I wonder if you’d like my cat friend, Big. He’s a fisherman too, and much smarter than he looks.”

Bentley: “Maybe, if we ever get some time. But let’s focus for the key first.”

After rolling through some halls and knocking out guards, we come to a pond with really big fish, and they look to be hungry for magnets too. They’re quite attracted to it, so it will take a lot of moving to make sure they don’t get caught. Our aim is three levers below, and pulling them all opens up 3 doors for us to go through. The left entrance leads us to a fishing gear room, which has window we can look through with the binocucom to hit a switch with a dart to drop a bridge segment. The right entrance leads down to the river, where we have to bomb rocks preventing another bridge segment from aligning correctly. Now, when we enter the center entrance, we can roll down the path to reach a guarded pagoda, and defeating everyone lets us inside. Say… someone’s praying to a golden Sonic statue in here.

Inside the fair sized pagoda is, besides a golden Sonic statue, a pretty big bed. On the bed sits a green frog, ribbiting quietly and happily. Of course, the more noticeable person here is none other that the cat himself, Big, fishing happily in a center hole, which has a few fish swimming around.

Big: “Oh! Hello there. So you were the one causing the ruckus outside.”

Sonic, over the binocucom: “Big! Hey buddy! Can you hear me?”

Big: “Heh, loud and clear, Sonic. Is this turtle friend a friend of yours?”

Bentley: “You could say that, yeah, with the adventure we had. Name’s Bentley.”

Big: “Nice to meet you. Thanks for opening the door they blocked, though I was fine here really.”

Bentley: “Eh, no problem at all. Actually, I’m here because I thought a key could be this way?”

Big: “I did manage to fish one from the guards. But when they checked in on me, I had to chuck it down this hole. Sorry.”

Bentley: “It’s okay. I got a magnet to grab it with.”

Big: “Well, okay then. The fish aren’t as in the way here, but there is quite some rocks in the way.”

Bentley: “Then I just got to be extra careful.”

One more fishing hole, and it’s a doozy. There are more rocks jutting out from any which way, to try and block access to the Key, but it’s not impossible. Just focus on moving around them carefully without losing the line. The Key will eventually snap on, so then we can start pulling back and soon have the Key to our possession.

Big: “Wa-hoo!”

KEY 6 GET

Big: “Come back anytime to my summertime home here.”

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #7: WANTED: Tibor the Tiger** : Carmelita heads out along the path to the village, where we find a G.U.N. tent and our familiar face.

G.U.N. Officer Isaiah: “Agent Carmelita, you’ve arrived just in time.”

Carmelita: “Another live one ready to be taken down?”

Officer Isaiah: “Yes, and quite the lively tiger.”

*He shows a picture of a massive tiger in Chinese Emperor clothes.*

Carmelita: “If I didn’t know better, I’d assume it was El Jefe in new clothes.”

Officer Isaiah: “We did as well, until we made certain he was in jail, so this is definitely a different one, named Tibor. Past crimes suggest his was mostly armed robbery and shootings, until he was put under the regime of General Tsao.”

Carmelita: “And I’m guessing he’s now taking over with the fried chicken gone?”

Officer Isaiah: “Taking over this quiet village, acting like an emperor… it makes me furious to think he would actually rule these people, knowing full well what he will do instead.”

Carmelita: “Heh, don’t worry, Captain Isaiah. I’ll make sure he learns his lesson big time.”

G.U.N. Officer Isaiah: “Thank you. Just be careful since this area is a lot smaller than it looks. You might need to detour him to buy more time.”

It’s off to the palace we go, as the massive tiger himself comes out, trying to look regal in robes not fitting well. His arms are crossed and he fakes a mighty accent..

Tibor the Tiger: *Yawns* “G.U.N. has come to stop me and this is the best they send? You look more like prey to me- AAYYI!EE!!”

*He barely missing getting a shock.*

Carmelita smirks: “The fox has become the predator to the tiger.”

Tibor, meekly and scared: “N-not if you can’t catch me! AAAAHHHHH!!!!”

The chase is on with this tiger, who’s a lot more bark than bite. He tends to draw a stolen sword and slice constantly if we’re close, so staying near him might not be a good idea. His distance attack has him blowing fire through his old gun like a flamethrower, but it’s much easier to dodge.

If anything, his danger comes from his faster speed than most, trying to escape as fast as he can. He’ll probably be making a run out of the village with only a third of his health gone. Luckily, our G.U.N. soldier has set a trap that, when zapped, brings up an electric wall that forces Tibor to go along the very long mountain path to get out of here.

Tibor: “Aaah!! A fence! Yipes!!” *He rushes to the path.*

Now with the long path ahead, taking down Tibor should be quite doable. Just watch out for the guard patrol and the hilly nature of the mountain. If he does make it to the end, we can zap the fence to make him double around the mountain again, but the fence breaks with this, meaning he has to be defeated before then. But, Carmelita will succeed.

Tibor: “N-no! Don’t hurt me! I give!”

Carmelita: “The mighty tiger, now a bumbling fool under this fox. How pathetic.”

*G.U.N. arrives and carry the tiger with their mechs to the truck and drive off.*

Officer Isaiah: “Thank you very much, Agent Carmelita. Once more, a Key for your troubles.”

KEY 7 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #8: Sonic Vs. Vector** : Sonic’s challenge takes him through the village and down to the docks where the gang had to make an impromptu safehouse. And there, swimming around the water is a gold blinged crocodile.

Sonic: “Hello, Vector! Enjoying a swim?”

Vector: “Yep! Chun-nan’s water is lovely this time of year. And, heh, I might be eating a few fish.”

Sonic chuckles: “Well, at least you’re enjoying yourself. How’s the music career going?”

Vector: “That… I’m wondering if I should give it up. I’ve realized that I got a bad singing voice.”

Bentley, over the binocucom: “If I may offer a suggestion, being loud is not always important. Sometimes not straining your voice as hard can sometimes produce better results.”

Vector: “I do always feel I’m trying too hard… maybe I ought to try that.”

Bentley, over the binocucom: “Never try too hard, or else you’re being doing Sly’s terrible Italian accent.”

Sly, over the binocucom, doing his ‘accent’: “Heya, what’za wronga with my Italiano accenta? It’sa pure perfectiona like pasta sausa!”

*Everyone laughs at Sly’s bad accent.*

Sly, over the binocucom: “Ah, you’re a bunch of critics.”

Vector: “Heh, maybe I do still have a chance.”

Sonic: “How about your detective agency?”

Vector: “Oh! That’s actually going really well. Business is starting to pick up and we’re making money. Right now, we’re just taking a break to prepare. And actually, while I was swimming, I found a key.”

Sonic: “Oh? Could I have it?”

Vector: “Heh, I would have, but I heard you beat Charmy in a race, and now I wanna have one too.”

Sonic: “Heh, thinking because you have the water advantage, I’d be scared? Not a chance.”

Vector: “Then let’s go. And don’t expect this to be easy.”

As Vector said, this is not going to be easy as Sonic has to be continuously running on the water, or else he’ll sink to the bottom, and be required to use the speed pads below to regain the speed needed to resurface and hydroplane, which can take precious seconds needed to win. We’ll know he can still hydroplane if Sonic’s feet are a blur. Vector is going to be swimming at a higher speed with the current, and a slower speed against it, which does affect Sonic slightly too so we have to consider that too, but not too much.

As for the race itself, we’re going around the village on the river twice, but each section we run is different with how the course is. The obvious changes are the rocky outcroppings that are meant to slow Sonic down should he crash into them. They stay up a few seconds, before crumbling from the water current and new ones form a few seconds afterwards. It can get quite chaotic, but it’s quite doable. Oh! And around the northern part of the river, watch out for the riverside bridges, and to not crash into them. They could be useful for running on though...

However, sometimes Egg Flappers from Episode 1 appear and become offerable stepstones to avoid the craziness of the water, especially useful with the current against us. At the end of the chain, Sonic has to home attack to retain the speed he had before starting it, or else he’ll sink at a full stop.

With all the hecticness, two laps will fly by fast, and someone will be the winner.

If Vector wins the race:

Vector, very loudly: “YYYYEEEAAAH!! I won!!!”

Sonic rubs his ears in pain: “Oooow… too loud.”

Vector: “O-oh. Sorry. Um… wanna race again?”

If Sonic wins the race:

Vector: “Darn. I lost. Guess I didn’t swim fast enough.”

Sonic: “You were going against the fastest thing alive. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Vector: “Oh, I know. I had fun. Here’s the key I found, by the way.”

KEY 8 GET!

\--

_ Ultimate Reward Location _ : In the palace General Tsao occupied. It sticks out quite obviously on the third floor and we probably passed by it at one point or another.

_ Ultimate Reward: Moon Necklace _ [Description: Knuckles calls upon his ancestor’s strength to power himself up to new heights. With some use of his Reflex meter, he can easily send smaller enemies like shooting stars far away and toss big ones far for big damage.]


	37. Master Theif Challenges: Episode 4

  1. **Mining for Clues** : Grab a pickaxe since it’s time to dig up the clue bottles needed to find a Key hiding away.
  2. **Big Happy Hippo Fight Time** : Murray beats up an army of robots and guards to earn a nice Key from them.
  3. **Golden Shine** : Tails flies into the destroyed El Jefe statue and repairs machines to find a key tucked away in the mess.
  4. **Crystal Jump** : Sly, with the help of Murray and some more help, use the van to recharge the low energy Jewels.
  5. **Dig Echidna** : Knuckles digs around the dirt basement where the El Jefe statue was to find a Key in the mountain.
  6. **Dojo Training** : Bentley rolls into a dojo teeming with electrical security and has to hack computers and dodge security for a Key.
  7. **WANTED: Boris the Boar** : An oversized pig with a massive fireworks cannon is terrorizing the village. Carmelita will have to defeat it before it can escape into the thick woods out of the mountain range.
  8. **Sly vs. Espio** : Sly races the ninja for a Key he snagged.



**Master Thief Challenge #1: Mining for Clues** : The clue bottle challenge is only a few steps away from the safehouse and we can watch the bottles fall out of the sky. Around here, they’re a lot more scattered and fair. Minus a few clue bottles, most anyone can complete this.

  * Clue Bottles 1-5: Spread out among the trees around the safehouse. One or two might need a bit of climbing to reach.
  * Clue Bottles 6-14: Scattered around the village, all the way to the shrine at the base of the middle mountain. Nothing too difficult, but a few do land on the roofs or power lines.
  * Clue Bottles 15-25: Easily snagged by just following along the mountain paths. A few do hide in snow banks, which need to be hit to push the snow away.
  * Clue Bottles 26-30: Floating around El Jefe’s broken statue, one or two bouncing around inside.



Bentley: “I’ve deduced, with the powers that be astrology… that the key is right nearby? It says it’s around the safehouse…”

Careful searching around the safehouse reveals the open window on the second floor of the safehouse. Getting inside by any means helps us find a bedroom locked from the inside and the Key laying on the desk in the room.

KEY 1 GET 

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #2: Big Happy Hippo Fight Time** : The pink hippo’s challenge leads him straight to the mouths of the caves.

Murray: “I swear I’m hearing loud footsteps coming this way from inside the caves.”

Bentley: “Darn machines… oh! You are right! Guards and badniks are starting to come out!”

Murray: “Looks like I’ll be blowing their final whistle for tonight.”

Once again, the enemy forces are getting a little stronger and a little smarter, now coming out of the 4 mine entrances to try and surround Murray that way. The Kappas can make things a bit harder, but tossing enemies at them should make them fall fast. Eventually the hoards will cease and the final enemy pops out the Key for our trouble.

KEY 2 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #3: Golden Shrine** : Tails heads on over to the knocked over statue of El Jefe and finds a challenge fit for him.

Bentley: “After the fall this place suffered, I’m surprised most of the statue still looks relatively together.”

Tails: “Well, Eggman’s machines and buildings do seem to be well protected from fall damage from great heights, so this being near intact is no surprise.”

Bentley: “You think you can navigate through the mess?”

Tails: “It isn’t the first time we’ve handled a building changing its orientation. I got this.”

How odd a building can look when it has been tilted on its side. Furniture has been thrown onto the walls to provide some climbing challenge with Tails’ flying. Some are also balanced precariously that we could knock it down to a lower floor by landing at the right spot. The more pressing problem comes from the cameras and lasers Sly and Bentley had to deal with, which are still working even on this new plane of action.

Bentley: “Wait… hang on… even with the possible damage, they are still working? I would have never been able to calculate for this!”

Tails: “With Eggman, you gotta be ready for anything. They are able to work under any direction by either fall or other means. It’s brilliant, but painful.”

Most of the lasers are easy to fly around and dodge, but the cameras can be a bit of a problem with how fast they shoot. At the very least, they can be destroyed by knocking some tilted furnitured onto the camera to smash them so we can move on.

Our goal is to get to the top of the statue, which we can’t enter right now because the jaws are shut. To get there, we’ll have to climb the elevator shaft towards the back, but those have been shut as well. There are machines along the groups of floors to open the elevator shaft, though Tails will have to rewire the machine to make it work again. The machines are fairly easy to find, usually in rooms that got cracked open in the crash.

After plenty of flying, dodging and repairing, we’re finally in El Jefe’s office space where we got his documents. Hidden right ahead in his knocked down desk is the Key we need, which just needs a spin to open the drawer. Now, to get out of here, Tails will have to fly into the nose area of the statue and press a big switch that opens up the eyes, nostrils and mouth to the open air again, letting us finish the challenge.

KEY 3 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #4: Crystal Jump** : Sly heads on over to the eastern mine entrance, where he’s met by more of Sonic’s friends. With Cream stands her lovely mother Vanilla, holding onto her shoulders, and beside her, stands the quiet Espio.

Cream: “Oh! Hello, Mr. Sly!”

Sly: “Well, hello Cream. Who are the others here with you?”

Cream looks up: “Well, this is my momma, Vanilla.”

Vanilla: “Hello there, Sly Cooper. I heard you’re the one who kept this place safe from that terrible El Jefe.”

Sly nods: “All in a day’s work, miss. It’s what I like doing.”

Espio: “As much as you like stealing?”

Sly gulps: “Uh…” *He sighs* “Yeah.”

Vanilla: “Oh, don’t worry, we already knew that from Sonic and the others.”

Sly: “Oh…”

Cream: “Stealing is bad, but he did explain you are like Robin Hood, so sometimes it’s okay to be in a gray area.”

Sly: “I do like the story of Robin Hood, actually.”

Espio: “Could we get back to the task at hand?”

Cream: “Always the on point ninja, Mr. Espio.”

Sly: “Hmm, indeed, what am I doing?”

Espio: “We need to recharge the Elemental Jewels that El Jefe drained when he powered up. Without them, this land is unbalanced.”

Sly: “Oh, that. Wouldn’t they recharge on their own?”

Espio: “They would, but it would take such a long time for restoration. However, since the chargedown was recent, we might be able to fix the mistake before it’s too late.”

Sly: “Is there some way we can do that?”

Espio: “There is still plenty of energy from the devices around the area that were made from their power. If we could take them and amplify them back to the gems, it might restart them to more normal levels.”

Cream: “Would using batteries help?”

Vanilla: “Hmmm… that would require no small feat of reverberating the energy in a cell to near atomic levels with a high possibility of a massive explosion.”

*Everyone stares in disbelief.*

Vanilla: “What? My major was in energy sciences. In fact, I’m quite the whiz in many studies.”

Bentley chimes in through the binocucom: “Would it be surprising that I understood everything she said and actually have just the perfect device to do this?”

Sly: “I’m not.”

Bentley: “Hang on, I’m coming with Murray in the van.”

*One screen wipe later, the van rolls up with Murray and Bentley visible from the open back doors.*

Bentley: “It’s going to be dangerous, but this van is capable to act as a battery and charger for those crystals. Sly’s going to have to collect the energy from the various devices and once we have enough, take the energy to the Jewels.”

Sly: “I don’t mind dangerous, but… how would we do this?”

Murray, enthusiastically: “Jumper cables!!!”

Espio: “Huh?”

Cream: “Hmm.”

Vanilla: “Quite an ingenious way to collect and transfer the energy.”

Bentley: “FINALLY!!! Someone who sees the glory in what I do!”

Sly: “Okay, Wizard,” * ‘Wizard’ is said in a mocking tone to note an embarrassing nickname* “I’m going to get started on the energy collecting for the first Jewel.”

Vanilla, eagerly: “Oooh…”

Cream: “I think I’ll help Mr. Cooper, mama. Cheese should be able to keep him protected.”

Vanilla: “Hmm, I suppose.”

Espio: “Don’t worry, Vanilla, I’ll watch her closely. And I suppose I’ll provide extra support to you, Sly, so you don’t get hit.”

Vanilla: “Alright then. I’ll assist Bentley to make sure you collected enough energy then.”

A master thief challenge encroaching to the size of a job? Of course! Why not? Starting off close to the Electric Jewel and dragging an ever growing jumper cable in tow, Sly, Cream, and Espio travel together to find power sources generate the energy needed. The reason Cream and Espio are helping is because there are still guards and badniks guarding the mine, and Sly is exposed as he attaches and detaches the cable to each energy source. Cream can send Cheese to provide a stun attack to guards or destroy badniks, and Espio’s shurikens can handle knocking out guards and badniks alike, one at a time. Together, with a stun and a strike, they can take down the big guards with ease. Sly can help, but we should be more focused on charging the battery with energy as it slowly drains if it doesn’t get more.

Our first goal is charging the Electric Jewel, which means we’re going to be draining energy from batteries, the lights, machines, and power rods. The power rods and batteries will provide most of the electricity, followed by the machines, and the rest will probably be topped off by the lights. It might be best to save the lights as the last thing in each area, as they go dark when they get drained. It can make the dangers impossible to see, but at least the guards are just as in the dark as we are. Thankfully, the cord can’t be tangled or cut, but we also can’t go on with it forever, so be a little careful. In any case, with enough charge, we got to return to the van for the other cable.

Murray: “Nicely done, Sly. Here’s the transfer cord to put the power to the Jewel.”

This part is much easier, just head straight for the Electric Jewel, put the cord on, and run off before Sly gets too fluffy. The lights will return with power again once the jewel glows.

Sly: “Whoa… shocking.” *He smirks.*

Cream: “That sounds like something Mr. Sonic would say.”

Espio: “Maybe they’re from similar dorkiness.”

Sly: “Hey!”

Bentley: “Come on, you three. Two more to go.”

The next jewel is the Fire Elemental Jewel, which has plenty of torches, fire pits, explosives and other fire traps. Draining those of their power should be a snap, but be cautious of not getting burned by stepping on it. And like with the Electric Jewel, it will get quite dark with no fire light. At least there’s the map to rely on to know where to go. Once with the transfer cord, we can get the Fire Elemental Jewel lit again, as it gets warm and bright.

Sly: “It’s like a campfire.”

Cream: “They are good for cooking smores.”

Espio: “And lighting up the darkness like a torch.”

Finally, it’s time for the Ice Elemental Jewel which promises not to have a darkening cavern at least. We got to drain Ice energy from every frozen form of water hanging everywhere, but be careful, as it starts to make a lot of water in the cavern as time goes on. Sly will have to swim through some of it to top out the 100% Ice energy for this crystal, but it will take care of the guards. With enough ice energy, it’s time to grab the transfer cable and return the energy to the Ice Jewel, as the water recedes and freezes again.

Sly: “Brr…. there isn’t a big enough cup to put this ice cube in.”

Espio: “I’m sure Eggman will make said cup one day.”

Cream gasps: “Not evil lemonade!”

*They laugh and head back to the van, where Bentley and Vanilla are talking.*

Sly: “We’re done, but I haven’t found a key for all this…”

Espio pulls one from his person: “I stole this from one of the guards. I don’t think they need it.”

Sly: “Thanks.”

Vanilla: “Thank you for saving the village too.”

Cream: “Yeah, thanks!”

Sly: “Heh, don’t mention it.”

Espio: “Perhaps our paths will cross again.”

Vanilla: “Same, and see you, Wizard.” *Smiles at Bentley.*

Bentley: “Same to you, Berserker.” *He smiles at her and she leaves.*

Sly chuckles: “Roped another one to our Dungeon and Dragon’s game?”

Bentley: “Heh, you could say that. She’s the one who mentioned it first though. Cool that we somehow have the same game across universes, minus some changes.”

Murray: “I think she could kick my barbarian butt… maybe.”

Sly: “As long as I’m still the only Thief, I’m fine with it.”

KEY 4 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #5: Dig Echidna** : Knuckles heads up the central mountain that once housed El Jefe’s monument, to notice that there is a large basement underneath.

Knuckles: “Whoa, El Jefe had the mountain dug out.”

Bentley: “Indeed. And this is also the point where I lost my key monitors. Maybe you can find them in the dirt down here?”

Knuckles: “Wish me luck.”

El Jefe’s base’s… er basement is about as large as the original structure is/was, and goes a few floors deep into the mountain. It’s clear this was planned to be a hidden base if need by, but now only guards and badniks patrol the halls. Snow has lightly dusted everything, giving the place a slight tinge of light blue. There is some security with lasers sweeping around and cameras with spotlights attached ready to shoot unexpected intruders. Thankfully, the walls and floor are malleable enough that Knuckles can climb and dig around these obstacles. There are a few rooms that are encased in dirt that Knuckles may need to dig into to find a monitor or the Key.

The first monitor is well guarded by moving lasers that the red echidna will have maneuver around carefully to read.

Hint Monitor 1: “This Key is in a safe place.”

The second monitor is within a room that’s been encased with dirt, and guarded by a big guard that probably should be put out of their misery.

Hint Monitor 2: “The safes are colored like the Chaos Emeralds, though there are more than 7 here.”

And the third monitor is found down on the lower floor, behind a red-tinted metal door that Knuckles can punch to enter an underground pool, with the monitor in the deep end.

Hint Monitor 3: “El Jefe had stolen the Cyan Emerald, right?”

The monitors point us to the southern side of the lower floor, where there is a row of big colored safes that look to be a call back to Security Hall. In one of them, a Cyan safe, is the Key for our taking, and the rest have lots of rings and a few have enemies in it… for more rings.

KEY 5 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #6: Dojo Training** : Bentley heads on over to the village and walks up to the doors of a dojo that wasn’t touched by anyone else.

Bentley: “Hmm, based on the rest of the area, I have a feeling this might be the location of a Key. But I wonder what dangers lie inside.”

Sly: “Aw, I know you got it buddy. And we’re right outside if you need help.”

Bentley: “Yeah, I know. Well… might as well do it.”

Within the dojo, Bentley breathes a sigh of relief when he sees there’s nothing as absurd as doing Ninja Spire jumps or being remotely acrobatic as Sly. Instead, the dojo is comprised of a lot of halls with sliding doors dividing them up into sections. The sliding doors won’t open unless Bentley finds the computer that opens them down the other path. The paths are guarded not only by enemies, but also lasers and electricity running down rods from one side of a hall to the other. They can pass somewhat fast, but a good few jumps and watching them close will prevent a shocked turtle.

As for the hacking minigames, it’s usually going back through the hallways we went through, with plenty of Eggman’s cyber badniks and lasers bouncing around, and other cyber security blocking the way to the node to open the sliding door. It can be quite hard, but it’s a good workout. There are 4 hacking challenges to get through that lead us to the main area, the Key glowing on the other side

Bentley: “I see the Key! But… hmm, this is too easy.”

Sly: “This feels like every movie that takes place in a dojo; there’s always traps ready to go in empty rooms.”

Bentley: “Indeed. So how to get through…”

Their hunch is correct, as the normal room is hiding lasers that are visible with the grapple cam, and those lasers are making mazes that lead to supposed dead ends. In order to get through this maze without getting singed, there are switches at the top of the room that can be hit with the grapple cam’s gun turret. On the floor, at certain dead ends, are button pictures of which one to hit to turn the laser maze around safely and to get closer to the key. In order, Bentley will have to hit Purple, Green, Red, and last Blue to turn the laser grids enough to get to the Key on the other side. And, to get back, Bentley will have to hit the Red, Green, and Purple buttons on the way back to get out of the room. Then it’s out through the halls and finished the challenge out the door.

KEY 6 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #7: WANTED: Boris the Boar** : Once more, we find a G.U.N. tent set up around the entrance to the village, and our fellow officer is waiting.

G.U.N. Officer Isaiah: “Agent Carmelita, good morning.”

Carmelita: “Mmm, it is a good morning. Got another monster to take down?”

Officer Isaiah: “Yes, ma’am. Our target today is Boris the Boar.”

*The monitor nearby shows a huge boar with long tusks and looking quite imposing and strong.*

Carmelita: “Someone hasn’t held back on the calorie intake.”

Officer Isaiah: “Don’t let his size fool you, he’s an explosives expert who has gone rouge and is bombing any place he steps towards.”

Carmelita: “Gone rogue? You mean he worked for G.U.N.?”

Officer Isaiah: “You didn’t hear it from me, but yeah. He apparently got turned after listening in on El Jefe too much and acts now on his own. And our organization would like this dealt with discreetly before it’s too late.”

Carmelita: “Mmm, I know a thing or two about betrayed agents. Thankfully we got them both in the end.”

Officer Isaiah: “Then this should be no problem at all for you. Though, be careful. He’s loaded with plenty of explosives he stole, so he’s certainly not going to go down without a fight.”

Carmelita: “Just leave it to me.”

Off we go, to the entrance of one of the mines where explosions are occuring, and we are met by the boar himself. His accent is, surprisingly, Japanese.

Boris the Boar: “Ooooh, Carmelita Fox. You’re one of those that took down our leader El Jefe. I’ll kill you for this- oOOF!”

*He barely dodges a shot*

Carmelita, with fire in her eyes: “Betraying your country is one of the lowest things to do in my eyes. You’re going to pay.”

Boris, cautiously backing up: “Uhhh… yes… pay… Not if I… RUN!!!”

For once, the scary boar is the one running off in fear of the lady with the gun. And hey, who smells fried pork? Oh wait, that’s Boris. However, this BIG piggy isn’t going to run home the usual way. Instead, he’s going through the mines to try and lose us in the many pathways. They are narrower in places, which is both useful for Carmelita and Boris to attack each other. For Boris, he has a large bazooka that he’s firing large fireworks from, that have a giant blast when they collide with something. Being close is not much safer, as he swings a big pickaxe with quite some speed and power. There is a little trick, that with the right shot, the firework can be blown early by us and hurt the pig instead for some damage. But it will take a lot of hits still to fry this pig before he escapes through the woods past the safehouse.

Boris: “Nuuuuu!!! I’m done for…”

Carmelita: “I’m sure they got the best place for scum like you.”

*G.U.N. arrives and drags him into the truck and leaves. And Isaiah comes up and gives us the Key he has.*

G.U.N. Officer Isaiah: “Thank you, once more, Agent Carmelita.”

KEY 7 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #8: Sly(?) vs. Espio** : Sonic heads on over to another one of the mine entrances where he finds Espio waiting.

Sonic: “So it seems the land is back to normal, huh?”

Espio: “It feels to be so, if my connection to nature is correct.”

Sonic: “My gut feeling is saying the same thing. Hmm… But I feel you are here for more than this.”

Espio: “Hmm? Another gut feeling of yours?”

Sonic smiles: “I have a feeling you snagged a second key from one of the guards as well.”

Espio smirks: “Perhaps. A ninja never tells.”

Sonic: “Well, how about we have a race for this non-existing key?”

Espio: “You think you can beat a ninja with remarkable stealth?”

Sonic: “Only one way to find out, is there?”

*He is about to start the race when he gets an idea.*

Sonic: “Wait a moment.”

Espio: “Hmm?”

Sonic: “This isn’t fair… you should be racing a master thief.”

Espio: “Are you suggesting that I race your friend, Sly Cooper? The self-proclaimed master thief?”

Sonic: “He is basically almost a ninja in his world. It seems like a good challenge.”

Sly appears from the use of his Shadow Power: “Hey, I’m willing.”

Espio: “This sounds like it would be quite fun. Bring it on if you can, Cooper.”

Sly: “Likewise, Espio. May the best ninja win.”

It’s a ninja vs. ninja showdown as Sonic lets Sly Cooper, the master thief, race against the ninja chameleon Espio, for top ninja spot. But Espio ain’t going to play the fair card as he immediately goes invisible to make us question how far ahead or behind he is, that sneaky ninja. Luckily, we got a sneakier team with us.

Bentley: “Sly, press the button on the side of the binocucom. It will turn on infrared vision to let you see where Espio is, despite his powerful ability.”

Now exposed, Espio is quite the acrobat and put Sly’s skills to the test through a gauntlet of traps and tricks. Our trip to the first checkpoint is lined with lasers, that Espio just walks through but we are forced to climb our own ways around to catch up, perhaps with the hooks hanging from the ceiling. From there, the second checkpoint is halfway across a lake, with only ninja spire jumps to cross it. Espio isn’t totally confident with each jump, so Sly should be able to catch up and possibly get ahead here. Next up is getting over the rest of the lake while riding and jumping broken rails that curve and do loops to the other side. A good rail slider will make it to the other side still in the lead to the third checkpoint.

Onwards, the path is divided in two for each racer, as they have to walk along the wall, dodging search lights and lasers going up and down and back and forth at different speeds. Both paths are the same to not give either side an edge. On the other side is the fourth checkpoint, where a large rock wall waits with plenty of wall hooks. They have to swing up their own ways to reach the top to the 5th checkpoint, but we’re probably going to be leading with Espio’s hesitant demeanor again. Finally, to finish the challenge, there are lasers making a mess all over a narrow walkway over a chasm, a certain win for Espio. But, along the sides, are plenty of lasers that Sly can grind along at a faster speed to hopefully clench the win at the finish point marker at the exit of the cave.

If Espio wins the challenge:

Espio: “Looks like I am the master thief, heh.”

Sly: “Hey, you got lucky with your laser passing ability.”

Espio: “Relax, I’m a good sport. How about we try again. You might reclaim your title again.”

If Sly wins the challenge:

Sly: “Yes! Master thief moniker sustained!”

Espio: “Fascinating, you never even hesitated at any challenge. You are clearly the better ninja. Here’s the Key I had.”

Sly: “Thanks. But hey, you just need some more confidence in some abilites to certainly be the master ninja of this world.”

Espio: “Oooh, how humbling.”

KEY 8 GET!

\--

_ Ultimate Reward Location _ : Found at the bedroom of the El Jefe statue, which is enterable from the eyes. Finish challenge 3 to get in there..

_ Ultimate Reward: Chaos Control _ [Description: In comparison to Time Break, the clock instead stops entirely and freezes everything in place and inverting the colors of everything. In this state, Sonic can either skip past enemies or get away from them, or attack an enemy repeatedly to defeat them as soon as time starts again. It’d be best to turn it off as soon as possible, since it drains the Reflex Meter fast.]


	38. Master Theif Challenges: Episode 5

  1. **Message in a Clue Bottle** : Clue Bottles have been scattered everywhere in the soggy dome, and possibly towards a Key.
  2. **Dome Match** : Murray goes Hippo to guard and badnik to thin out Metal Sonic’s last hordes for a Key they guard.
  3. **Firefighter Fox** : Tails uses the T-Pup and buckets of water to wash out some remaining fires guarding a Key.
  4. **Cavern Crawl** : Sly deals with plenty of guards and badniks patrolling in the mountain caverns to find the Key deep within.
  5. **Treasure Hunt** : Knuckles searches for a key discarded around the shores of the lake.
  6. **Change of Season** : Bentley hacks into the weather control again and figures out how to turn it to a proper springtime to make flowers grow and drain a pond enough to bomb a gate open to get a Key.
  7. **WANTED: Mecha Sonic Mk. III** : Perhaps a final resort in case he failed, Carmelita has to shut down a rampaging Mecha Sonic before he can escape the dome and cause havoc and earn a Key.
  8. **Sonic Vs. Omega** : The one robot army has snagged a Key and challenges Sonic to a race for it.



**Master Thief Challenge #1: Message in a Clue Bottle** : The challenge for the clue bottles sits right atop the knoll the hideout is on, where we can see them raining down all over the area. During this shot, we can see that most of the metallic roof has exploded away and everything is covered in ash and soot. If anything is left standing, it’s parts of jagged metal and glass. Most of the inner structures survived, perhaps a miscalculated placement of the explosives.

As for the clue bottles, there is no preferable choice here, and the bottles may not be easy to find, ala Sly 2. Just listen for the sound the bottles are making to find them.

  * Clue Bottles 1-10: Scattered around the lake Murray sunk the ships. A few are around the docks and most of the rest are hanging on trees near to where the gyroscope machines were.
  * Clue Bottles 11-20: Hopping happily around the cabin area. Found on roofs or hanging from them, or hanging from the nearby trees.
  * Clue Bottles 21-25: Scattered at heights on the tower, probably the least to be missed.
  * Clue Bottles 26-30: Found around the mountain area, usually within grabbable distance.



Bentley: “I think I reached nirvana after deciphering this clue. The key is actually hidden in the tower in a secret entrance. Just hit a certain panel 3 times to get inside and find the key.”

As Bentley said, there is a certain part of the circuitry pattern that is in the shape of a door, and hitting 3 times opens the panel to the inside, where the Key glows.

KEY 1 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #2: Dome Match** : Murray’s challenge takes him to the cabin area. Around there, machines whiz loudly.

Murray: “Hmmm? I am hearing machinery hard at work, Bentley, like when Metal Sonic made those badnik producers come out.”

Bentley: “Uh-oh, it looks like they rebuilt themselves and have produced a ton of badniks and guards in waiting.”

Murray: “I better clear them out before it’s too late.”

Parts of the ground throughout the whole dome open up to allow a large mass of guards and badniks to come out and challenge the mighty Murray. They can be a little hard if they get to the trees, but it’s not impossible to defeat them all. The crowds quickly come for Murray, which might make this one of the fastest ones to complete this far. Just make sure to cover each area to get all the enemies to come. With all of them destroyed and defeated, the Key comes out of the last of them to finish the challenge.

KEY 2 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #3: Firefighter Fox** : The yellow fox stands out bright in the crispy, ashen landscape as he makes his way over to the southern side of the dome, past the lake. A quick look around leads us to find a cave with the Key we want inside, but it’s guarded by 3 fire pits.

Tails: “Well, good news I found the key. The bad news is that it’s blocked by fire.”

Bentley: “At least there is water nearby. But you’ll need buckets to fill with water. Maybe search around for them?”

Some waypoints appear around the dome, thankfully pointing us to buckets we need to use. One of the buckets is near the southern cabin, ready for use. Another is around the mountains, on a ledge Tails needs to fly to. And the third is near to the docks, probably the closest of them all. There isn’t any particular order to do them in. As for getting them to water and then to a fire, Tails’ T-Pup can latch onto the handle and drop them into the water then bring them to the fire like those wildfire fighting helicopters. It won’t take long to have the fires out and get the Key for our troubles.

KEY 3 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #4: Cavern Crawl** : Sly makes his way over to the mountain range where they took Sonic to so they could fight Metal Sonic.

Sly: “Hmm, now that I think about it, we never checked the other caves in the mountains.”

Bentley: “It looks like the dangerous tech got blown out in the explosion, so this seems like the perfect opportunity to find out what they’re hiding.”

Sly: “Wish me luck then.”

The interior of the mountain looks to have seen better days, as the explosion has ripped apart a lot of the paneling, strewing it everywhere, and it has let the exposed circuitry pop out and electrify large sections of the cave. But one master thief is not scared of a little shock, as there are plenty of hookable, crawlable, and climbable panels to avoid the electricity. There are still some working spotlights and lasers going around to make things tougher, but still doable. Guards and badniks do patrol routes on larger sections of panels, but Sly can avoid them if he hides behind the ripped up sides of the panelling. There are quite a few dangerous parts with lots of exposed wiring, but being slow and cautious will win us through.

Of course, one could cheese all this if they had an Electric shield, if we could find it hiding in the trees…

Anywho, in the open area the cave path leads to, Sly will have to handle electricity arcing around the room, hiding behind cover when it comes close by. Slowly, we’ll make it around the room and find the Key on the other side in a safe alcove. With key in hand, the top of the mountain opens and we can ride an air vent out of this place with Sly’s parachute, and finish the challenge.

KEY 4 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #5: Treasure Hunt** : Heading on over to the lake area’s dock, Knuckles’ challenge sits right at the end.

Bentley: “Darn, this isn’t good. The enemies got smarter and threw my hint monitors far into the lake, possibly into the 3 sunken ships down there.”

Knuckles: “Good thing I still got my Air Necklace to breathe longer underwater then. I’ll get them out quick!”

Now it’s Knuckles’ turn to take a nice swim in the water, who can thankfully swim like he did in Sonic Adventure 2. He is in less need of air, but there are plenty to get from the nearby rocks if need be. Our target is the sunken ships that Murray thoroughly smashed which have gaping holes in their decks. Inside, Knuckles can easily punch through the doors and walls to get where he needs to go.

The first monitor can be found in the smallest ship’s mess hall, under a lot of tables and chairs that piled up that Knuckles can crush.

Hint Monitor #1: “I’m closer than you think.”

The second monitor is in the medium sized ship’s explosives room, which haven’t exploded yet, so be careful.

Hint Monitor #2: “It’s better down where it’s wetter.”

The third monitor is in the largest ship’s room for the captain, wedged behind some desks and treasures Knuckles has to knock aside.

Hint Monitor #3: “A big pile of rocks cover the Key.”

With all clues, they guide us to another part of the lake, where, under rocks Knuckles can punch, is the Key we need.

KEY 5 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #6: Change Of Season** : Bentley sneezes from the ashes floating around in the air, before wheeling himself along the hilly landscape over to the western side of the dome, where the structure is completely gone and there is desert noticeable outside. However, our eyes should turn on over to the pond, which has something shiny inside.

Bentley: “Hmm, there’s a strong metal gate down there, and behind it looks to be a key.”

Sly: “Is it possible to reach it?”

Bentley: “I could handle the water, but it looks like some of the electricity short circuited in here, so I’d get shocked should I enter it. I’m guessing the water filled this hole by mistake.”

Tails: “Maybe you could drain it by changing the temperature in the place. I think I saw the control tower had weather controls as well. If they aren’t fried totally, it might just work.”

Bentley: “Heading my way over now.”

Off we go, to climb the central tower that still stands proud. We have to climb quite high on it, near to the top, where we can see to all corners of the dome from there.

Bentley: “Wow, it’s mesmerizing up here. I see why Sly likes getting high vantage shots.”

Sly: “It’s lovely to see the sprawled out world in front of you firsthand.”

Bentley: “Indeed. Now, where’s that computer…”

The computer is right behind a metal panel that Bentley can bomb, not much resistance to enter the digital world. In this one, we start in a central area with 6 digital neon orange and black colored halls expanding to the ‘ends’ of the dome, and at each end is a node to activate. As one would expect, the tight halls are filled with badniks ready to destroy Bentley’s code. It’s going to be quite hard to fight through them all, but it will be worth it in the end.

With the nodes active, in the real world, whatever sprinklers that weren’t destroyed get shut off, and retract. In replacement of some of them, heaters start working and introduce heat to the dome. From our high vantage point, anything less than a pond size of water evaporates and the lake drains a tiny bit, but unnoticeable.

Bentley: “Aha! There we go! And it looks like I can get into that cave now.”

Down the tower we go, and back on over to the now empty pond. There is some wires zapping, but they are out of the way of the gate Bentley can bomb away with a few bombs. With it open, we can get the key inside and finish the challenge.

KEY 6 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #7: WANTED: Mecha Sonic Mk III** : Carmelita’s challenge takes her outside to where the Tornado sits where a trigger happy robot waits.

Omega raises his left arm: “HALT! STATE YOUR NAME AND AUTHORITY.”

Carmelita raises her shock pistols: “I could ask you the same question. You certainly look like one of Eggman’s machines. And you don’t look like you handle electricity well.”

Omega’s head whirs around for a moment before he drops his gun arm. “I AM OMEGA, ONCE ONE OF EGGMAN’S ROBOTS, BUT I NOW HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST HIM FOR ABANDONING ME. I AM HERE AT G.U.N. BEHEST FOR SURVEILLANCE.”

Carmelita puts down her shock pistols: “That’s better. I’m Agent Carmelita, the Interpol agent working with Sonic and Sly.”

Omega: “AH. NOW MY SCANNERS FINALLY RECOGNIZE YOU. WHILE I WAS HERE, I HAPPENED TO SPOT ONE OF EGGMAN’S ROBOTS SPEEDING INTO THE DESTROYED BASE. I WOULD FIGHT IT MYSELF, BUT MY SCANNERS SAY IT IS BULLETPROOF AND MUCH TOO FAST.”

Carmelita: “So you are asking me to fight it?”

Omega: “IF YOU WOULD COOPERATE, YES.”

Carmelita: “I will.”

Off we go into the mountain cave from before, that seems to have survived the explosion pretty well, only requiring a few super jumps from Carmelita to get down into the main cavern. Down there, we find the source of the drain, another robot in the form of Sonic…

Carmelita: “Another Metal Sonic?”

*The robot turns to look her directly in the eyes, assessing how much of a danger she is.*

Tails: “No! Not Metal Sonic! Rather, it’s one of Eggman’s other Sonic models, Mecha Sonic! It looks like he’s been upgraded too.”

*Mecha Sonic’s eyes turn red, confirming a targeted threat and is ready to fight and neutralize.*

Carmelita: “He’s spotted me. I think I’ll teach him a lesson he won’t soon forget.”

**BOSS: MECHA SONIC MKIII**

Metal Sonic’s prototype looks to have been rummaging through Eggman’s armory and has enough defense and offense to be his own one-robot army. Offensively, Mecha Sonic likes to run around on his jet shoes with a fast charge that either must be dodged or attacked to avoid a painful collision. Other times, he’ll enter a spiky ball and roll around that way which can only be dodged. Less often, he’ll rocket up into the air and fire off electrified spines from his hands that are semi-homing and stun Carmelita for another attack to hurt if they connect right. And rarely, he’ll use those electrified spines while curled up in a ball. Defensively, when he’s in a ball, Carmelita’s shock pistol will barely damage Mecha Sonic at all, and when he’s not curled up, does a bit more damage, but won’t stop him if he were to charge at her.

The best way to deal with Mecha Sonic is to go the unconventional route of having Carmelita do her regular kick attacks at him, as it does quite a bit of damage, but also knocks him away in an unguarded state. However, as the battle goes on, the robot will stay in his guarded state more and more often. It might not be a bad idea to still pepper him with electricity from time to time to soften him up more and get the battle over faster. Perseverance is key to winning this battle, which will satisfyingly make the faker Sonic explode off its extra attachments and leave it completely defenseless.

Carmelita: “Looks like you’re out of options, robot.”

*Mecha Sonic shows a look of ‘fear’ on his cold face as he speeds away super fast back to his master, dropping the Key we want along the way.*

KEY 7 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #8: Sonic vs. Omega** : Sonic’s challenge leads him outside to the Tornado, where another robot seems to be having an itchy trigger.

Omega: “SALUTATIONS, BLUE BLUR.”

Sonic: “Sorry Omega, you were too late for the party this time.”

Omega: “NEGATORY. I AM HERE BEHEST OF G.U.N. TO SURVEY EGGMAN’S LATEST BASE, EVEN THOUGH YOUR TEAM HAS ALREADY DESTROYED IT.”

Sonic: “I’m not sure there is much to see, since Metal Sonic made the base blow up.”

Omega: “STILL, I MUST SURVEY ACCORDINGLY.”

Sonic: “Always the due diligence robot.”

Omega: “ON NON-OFFICIAL BUSINESS, I HAVE SECURED A KEY OF ONE OF THE GUARDS HERE. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION SUGGESTS HOWEVER THIS IS NOT IMPORTANT EVIDENCE.”

Sonic: “In that case, why not give it to me? I’ll take care of it.”

Omega: “KEY SHALL BE GIVEN BUT I WOULD RATHER IT BE EARNED IN A RACE OF SUPERIORITY.”

Sonic chuckles: “Think you can beat me in a race, Omega?”

Omega: “THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT.”

Sonic’s race against the robot killer is quite a peculiar one, as the badniks come out in full force to try and slow both of them down. Of course Omega can just punch his way through, but Sonic will have to get creative with his attacks to keep a lead. Spin-dashing might be a good plan, and there are ways to make a home attack cover lots of distance too.

As for our checkpoints, the first leads us from the Tornado to the grassy knoll that is the gang’s base. From there, the second checkpoint takes us to the lake’s southern side. Following the coastline, we speed on ahead to the third checkpoint at the central tower. Drifting around there, it’s a long path to detour through the open easter side to reach the mountain range for the fourth checkpoint. Finally, after traversing around the mountains, it’s a straight shot to the final checkpoint in the middle of the cabin area. It can be anyone’s race throughout this whole thing.

If Omega wins the race:

Omega: “DESIGNATION OF FASTEST THING ALIVE, OMEGA. LIFE FORM SONIC IS DETHRONED.”

Sonic: “Hah ha, very funny. The robots slowed me down.”

Omega: “I AM WILLING FOR A REMATCH IF YOU WANT, SONIC.”

If Sonic wins the race:

Sonic: “Woohoo! Despite the robot armada, I won!”

Omega: “I COULD NOT BEAT THE FASTEST THING ALIVE, BUT I AM STILL THE ULTIMATE ROBOT, DESIGNED TO CRUSH EGGMAN’S FORCES.”

Sonic: “There we go! Now, about that key.”

*Omega tosses him the Key.*

KEY 8 GET!

\--

_ Ultimate Reward Location _ : Found in the Western cabin where Carmelita got an access code. Smack some of the computers to make a false wall turn to show the safe.

_ Ultimate Reward: Peaceful Agreement _ [Description: For a lot of the Reflex meter, Murray can touch an enemy and immediately make them disappear, even while they are in attack mode. Murray also gets a pinker aura that prevents the other guards from noticing him if they aren’t alerted.]


	39. Master Theif Challenges: Episode 6

  1. **Clue Bottle Haunt** : The dead are annoyed of all this clinking and want these bottles gone for a Key.
  2. **Fright Night** : Murray’s got to thin out an increase of monsters running around and earn a Key for his troubles.
  3. **The Garage** : Offshooting the right manor is a garage with other cars, and Tails will have to fix machines to get at the Key being blocked by them.
  4. **Don’t Disturb the Dead** : Sly has to sneak through the mausoleum with an increased enemy presence to find a Key they have locked away and destroy magical runes to break the seals and destroy the guards blocking it.
  5. **Soul Key** : Knuckles will have to dig around the graveyard to find a Key perhaps in an unmarked grave.
  6. **The Root Of All Evil** : Bentley joins Amy down in the caverns to find out why the lake is still polluted.
  7. **WANTED: Barry the Bone Monster** : It seems Eggman and Mz. Ruby left the bones to form into a monstrous dragon that has to be stopped before it terrorizes Never Lake.
  8. **Sonic Vs. Amy** : The pink hedgehog would have accepted giving the key over for a kiss, but Sonic redirected it to being a race. :P



**Master Thief Challenge #1: Clue Bottle Haunt** : Climbing atop the small safehouse brings us this clue bottle challenge, and they fall out of the sky like they were shot off of Little Planet. Sly should have the easiest time to get all these clue bottles, as they are usually on paths he can take.

  * Clue Bottles 1-15: Scattered everywhere around the faux town, from on top of power lines, roofs, and trees and as low as hiding around the corner of homes, walls and other buildings.
  * Clue Bottles 16-25: Littered around the two large manors, like on top of the fountains, trees or roofs or around the smaller corners of the yards.
  * Clue Bottles 26-30: Hiding around Mz. Ruby’s sanctum, mostly around the back area where there are plenty of cliffside walking. It also leads us up to the roof of the hideout as well.



Bentley: “I admit I had to ask for Amy’s help on this once since it required tarot card help. But we figured it out and can tell you the key is on top of Mz. Ruby’s hideout!”

Using that cliffside climb to her roof, we can find the shiny Key trying to act as one of the snake-head’s teeth. Grab it, and it’s done.

KEY 1 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #2: Fright Night** : Murray makes his way over to the center of the town to start his challenge.

Murray shivers: “Brr… I felt a cold chill… but it’s warm here… was I feeling a ghost.”

Bentley: “My paranormal scanners are suggesting you are feeling the undead army coming your way! Stop them Murray!”

Murray: “Righteous!”

For being dead, they sure are a lively bunch. Murray might have his work cut out for him dealing with these tougher enemies, but a strong fight and tossing foes will cut the dead down to size. The cats might be a problem, but toss a torch or anything fire to burn them and leave them super vulnerable. With the dead… dead again, a Key flies out of the last one for our troubles.

KEY 2 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #3: The Garage** : Tails makes a quick flight over to the eastern manor to get his challenge started.

Tails: “Hmm… I think I spot a second garage along the southern wall. I’m going to go check it out.”

Tails spins at the gadget near the barn doors that block it and they swing right open. Inside are 12 cars of varying shapes and sizes, all boxed in into each other in the tight space. On the second floor of what could be called a barn is a magnetic crane most likely meant to move the cars out of the way.

Bentley: “Whoa! Someone was a car enthusiast in here.”

Tails: “Yeah, and I don’t see a key either.”

Bentley: “Hmm… maybe you ought to start destroy-”

Murray butts in through the binocucom: “NO!! Don’t destroy them!”

Tails: “Huh? Why?”

*Tails zooms in on the cars.*

Murray: “They’re hot wired to explode!!”

Bentley: “Gadzooks! He’s right!”

Murray: “Every one of them has wire wrapped around the car, and if you break them in any way, it will send an electrical charge to the explosives underneath to set them off. With all these cars, it might blow up half of this place!”

Tails: “And possibly the key along with it. Would a magnetic crane prevent that from happening?”

Murray: “Most likely, as long as it’s a VERY GENTLE placement and doesn’t hit anything else.”

Tails: “Gentle, got it.”

Murray: “Hang on. I’m going to come over and search the cars for you, Tails. I know how to deal with this.”

A quick fly up to the crane controls and we can find that the  **Left Analog Stick** moves the magnet around on the plane of movement it’s on, the  **L1 Button** pushes the magnet down and the  **R1 Button** brings it up. The  **X button** changes the magnet’s polarity from positive to negative and vice versa, noted by the  **+** and  **-** on the top right corner. Some of the cars have different polarity and it can only be known by looking at the car’s colors and using the opposite charge. Darker colors are more negatively charged and lighter colors are more positively charged.

Once they are on the magnet, we have to be very careful when we move them, as they like to swing exaggeratedly and possibly bump into something. And the slightest bump will blow up the cars and fail the mission. They’ll have to be carefully placed into the yard outside, where Murray will deal with searching the cars and disposing of them safely, and he can only check them once he’s available, so don’t overfill the space we have to put cars at.

Eventually, with every car checked, Murray finally announces he has found the Key.

Murray: “I got it! Come here and get it!”

Just fly on over to Murray to earn our Key and finish the challenge.

KEY 3 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #4: Don’t Disturb the Dead** : Sly slinks his way on over to the entrance of Mz. Ruby’s hideout, which still seems to be having some activity.

Sly: “Hmm? I thought we kicked Mz. Ruby’s guards out of here.”

Bentley: “I thought so too, but then again, she seems to have really mucked up the place. Maybe it’s some extra runes or something keeping them bound.”

Sly: “I’ll see if I find any and destroy them, and look for a key in the meantime too.”

It seems Mz. Ruby had a backup failsafe for her mausoleum. The path we took to get to her has been blocked with three indestructible barriers at various points that are blocking the way to the Key sitting right at the place where she once sat. And between barriers are plenty more of the horrid guards patrolling in tight watches. This might be Sly’s toughest challenge yet, as it seems he could be caught at every moment…

Thankfully, Sly has something going for him and that’s the extensive amount of shadows being cast all over the place. As long as the thief stays in the darkness, they will not be able to see him, even if they walk by. We’ll have to watch the guards carefully as they like walking in each other’s paths to make things harder. Keeping a close eye on them, and keeping to the shadows as much as we can is the most important thing to do. It also might be a smart idea to break a few lights quickly to make more shadows if the guard presence are too heavy. A pitch dark room is perfect to sneak by the hard guards without them knowing.

Off the beaten path is where we can find the glowing purple runes powering the barriers blocking the way. Getting to them is more of the hard part, since they shine bright enough to allow Sly to be spotted. For our good luck, the runes are actually very fragile, and something as simple as tossing a small object will shatter them. There is plenty of small objects Sly can pick up with the  **O button** and toss them at the runes with the  **Square button** as easily as facing at them and he’ll do the rest. Be quick to hide in the shadows again before they can see what happened and get the heck out to the next area.

The first rune leads us to go down the right path to find it at the northwestern side of the place. The second has us climbing up to the second level from the western side of the mausoleum, and get to the southern area. And the third has us climbing vines to get near the roof to drop something below onto the last rune, perhaps the weak chandelier.

With all the runes destroyed, we can sneak our way to the Key and get out of the mausoleum just as fast to finish the challenge.

KEY 4 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #5: Soul Key** : Knuckles feels a shiver in his spine as he enters the graveyard for his challenge.

Knuckles: “Oh no… the last time I was in a graveyard, I saw plenty of Boos…”

Tails: “It’s okay, Knuckles, we can warn you if any are coming. Besides, you have to find that key for us.”

Knuckles: “I know… alright, here I go.”

For Knuckles heart, and ours, this place thankfully isn’t like Pumpkin Hill, and if there are any ghosts sticking around, they are quite helpful. Perhaps a bit playfully, they are the ones who took the monitors, but only by accident and not meaning any harm. They happily float around with them, and simply asking them with the  **O button** will give us the hint we need.

The first one hides around the eastern side of the graveyard, and comes out if we push four tombstones in the correct order, numbered 1-4.

Hint Monitor #1: “A town square has a round hole.”

The second one is noticed by the Boo flying high around the western side of the graveyard. All Knuckles needs to do is catch an updraft from one of the graves and touch them to get the ghost to come down.

Hint Monitor #2: “Some things are not as real as they look. Maybe they’d disappear if it was hit?”

The third monitor is around the southern side of the graveyard, where an extra tombstone sits with no accompanying dirt patch. Touch it to get the ghost to come out to play.

Hint Monitor #3: “Such a strange feature to have a water fountain with no water in it.”

The clues point us to search the town square in the center of town, which has a fountain that’s not working. Punching it makes it poof away in a ball of ghosts. And in the empty hole it left is the Key.

KEY 5 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #6: The Root Of All Evil** : Bentley rolls through the eastern manor, which has had the ectoplasm gates removed, and heads down the rickety stairs for his challenge at the bottom, where he meets Amy.

Bentley: “Amy? What are you doing here?”

Amy: “I’m here because something evil is lurking in these caves. Haven’t you noticed the lake still looks polluted?”

Bentley: “Now being out here, yeah. You think what’s causing it is in here?”

Amy: “It has to be, my spiritual work is usually right.”

Bentley pulls out his computer: “Hmm… my paranormal scanners seem to be in agreement… I wonder what’s inside.”

We roll along with Amy into the caverns Knuckles once walk through, but now there is a new cave going west and under the mausoleum. And quickly, the duo find the cause of the pollution.

Bentley: “Huh? Roots? I was expecting something more scary.” *He’s about to roll towards them before Amy blocks him.*

Amy: “W-wait! Don’t touch them! Don’t you see the dark sludge being released from them?”

Bentley: “No…” *He uses his binocucom, through its paranormal lens.* “Whoa! Invisible magic sludge!”

Amy: “Oh no! The roots are dipping into the natural river that flows into Never Lake! This is where the pollution is coming from!”

Bentley: “Don’t worry Amy, we’ll stop this from happening.”

Amy: “But how? We can’t physically touch them or with handheld weapons.”

Bentley: “How about bombs?”

Amy: “Hmm… it might work, but they might need multiple bombs and be blown off all at once so they can’t grow back.”

Bentley: “I do have remote bombs. I’m sure if I place enough with the  **R1 Button** and then aiming at the right spots, I can set them off all at once and blow off the root that way.”

It sure looks a lot more scarier to see such evil roots up close, releasing rivers of black sludge down themselves and into the river rushing below. Thankfully, we don’t need to be touching them to put Remote Bombs on them. It will take three bombs all at once to blast the roots to bits, one at the top, one somewhere in the middle, and one at the end of the root. However, we got to bomb the right spots or the roots won’t crack right. To find the right spots, just look for where the goop is flowing from the root and place the bomb there. And don’t take too long, because the flow will soon push the bombs away into the water and make them useless to use. There are three roots in all to blow up, and hitting them right will cause them to shrivel and explode into dust.

Amy: “Phew… I don’t feel the evilness anymore.”

Bentley: “Should we go check on the lake?”

Over at the lake, the water quickly turns crystal clear again.”

Amy: “Yay! It’s back to normal!”

Bentley: “Hmm… I wonder if there was a key around here…”

*Just then, the lake shoots something out of it and it lands in Bentley’s lap.*

Bentley: “Oh! A key!”

Amy: “It must have caught one from the guards and deemed you worthy to have it.”

Bentley: “Heh, I do care about the environment.”

Amy: “It knows. So thank you very much.”

KEY 6 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #7: WANTED: Barry the Bone Monster** : Carmelita heads over to Mz. Ruby’s hideout, where she spots the pink hedgehog watching the quiet waters of Never Lake.

Carmelita: “Ms. Rose?”

Amy: “Oh? Hi, Agent Carmelita. There’s no need to call me Ms. It makes me sound old and we’re on good enough terms, eh?”

Carmelita: “True. You can call me Carmelita then too.”

Amy sighs softly: “Do you feel the magical balance of the area?”

Carmelita shrugs: “I don’t really feel all that much. I’ve never really been attuned with magical stuff unless it’s something strong like Mz. Ruby’s.”

Amy: “It’s okay. Everyone has different levels of magic abilities. And honestly, it can sometimes be a hindrance. You seem like a very logical, straightforward gal, having more magical ability would only slow you down.”

Carmelita: “I see. Thanks.”

Amy: “Come on, bring it in.”

*They hug, but Carmelita stops after a bit.*

Carmelita: “I don’t need a good magical sense to feel that.”

Amy’s quills stand a little: “I feel that too… I think it’s coming from the graveyard.”

One walk over to the graveyard, they get a surprise of their life as lots of bones shoot out of the graves and start assembling themselves into a large, scary creature that is a predator of fox and hedgehog… wolves. Once assembled, it howls and shows its many teeth and red eyes in the dark sockets gleam menacingly.

Amy: “O-o-o-Oh my!!! A wolf!”

Carmelita growls: “We will not be dinner for you!”

**BOSS: BONE WOLF**

Carmelita might have her work cut out for this beast, as the bone wolf towers at least 3X her size. Its favorite attack is to rush back and forth with teeth gnashing, wanting to eat the fox. Only a quick dodge to the side at the last moment will avoid this attack. If that doesn’t work, it will stay back and produce guns made by Eggman from his back bones and start spraying bullets all over the place. Only constant movement will let us dodge this move, although it can fire 360 degrees around the wolf, high and low.

As for attacking the beast, just keep shooting at it to burn and destroy each and every bone. When it can’t hold a wolf form anymore, the rest of the bones will change tactics and just attack Carmelita directly, requiring kicks or more bullets to smash to dust. When all of them are destroyed, spiritual screaming is heard as the darkness left over explodes away and drops the Key we want.

Amy: “Phew! Thank you!”

KEY 7 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #8: Sonic vs. Amy** : Sonic makes his way over to the shores of Never Lake, to find Amy blissfully looking at the surroundings.

Amy: “I want to thank you guys again for saving Little Planet and Never Lake from corruption by evil.”

Sonic: “It wasn't nothing at all, Amy. You know we are always ready to help out.”

Amy: “True. You’re always running on over to help us at a moment’s notice.”

Sonic: “It’s what I like doing.”

Amy: “I know. Plenty of tarot card readings confirmed that. I just hope… we’re not overworking you too much.”

Sonic: “I doubt that’s possible, though I’ve never really felt that kind of tired before.”

Amy rubs her hand through her hair spines: “I’m probably overthinking things, thinking about your wellbeing.”

Sonic: “Trust me, Amy, you’d know if I was truly in trouble. Both by your magic and your intuition.”

Amy sighs happily: “Thank you, Sonic. It’s a relief to hear you say that.” *She pauses a bit before remembering* “Oh. I almost forgot. I found a key on one of the guards, and I think it might be pretty important for you.”

Sonic: “So you willing to give it up for free?”

Amy chuckles softly: “I would gladly give it to you for a date.”

Sonic shakes his head in a joking manner: “That still isn’t happening.”

Amy: “I know, heh. So… how about we have a race around the area instead?”

Sonic: “That I can get behind.”

Amy’s quite the curious racer to be up against. Although she is not as fast as Sonic is, the multiple uses of her hammer certainly make up for it. Her usual move is using the hammer as a catapult to launch her forward to cover distance, or to launch her high over an obstacle most others can’t by simple jumping. With how the fences around the yards of this area are, she could suddenly take a huge lead at any time. Usually, there is an enemy to help Sonic bounce over the wall with.

From our starting point near the shore, the first checkpoint has us bounding over the graves and the left manor’s wall. From there, we got to speed out the front gates and through the center of town for the second checkpoint. Blasting along the right side of town, the third checkpoint is reached by jumping over the tall wall to the manor. Taking a wide turn around out the gate, and speeding down the main street leads us to the various homes the guards lived in and the fourth checkpoint. There are plenty of fences to traverse between here and the final checkpoint, which is at the safehouse.

If Amy wins the race:

Amy: “Wow! I did it! I won!”

Sonic: “Heh, you sure did Amy. Darn those fences are killer.”

Amy: “Aw, I know you can do better than that, Sonic. Let’s try again.”

If Sonic wins the race:

Sonic: “Sorry, Amy, but I’m the winner this time around.”

Amy: “I know. I’m just glad I got to spend some time with you. Here’s the key you wanted.”

Sonic: “Thanks. Have fun, Amy!”

KEY 8 GET!

\--

_ Ultimate Reward Location _ : Bomb a part of one of the left manor’s walls to find the safe in a hidden room. The wall has dead plants growing from cracks to signify it’s a weak wall.

_ Ultimate Reward: Chaos Blast Bomb _ [Description: For some of the Reflex meter, Bentley tosses out a bomb that explodes on contact with an enemy or remotely. The resulting explosion is five times larger than Bentley’s other bombs, and destroy heavy breakable in one shot and defeats most big guards in one hit, or really softens them up. Best to stay away from the explosion as it can kill the player instantly.]


	40. Master Theif Challenges: Episode 7

  1. **I Dream of Clue Bottles** : Clue Bottles happily clink around in hopes of someone finding them all for a Key.
  2. **Hippo Wrestling** : LIVE from HWE, Murray’s got more rounds of fighting to do to earn a Key.
  3. **Dream Machine** : Tails repairs the lagging silver trains to earn a Key held by Illumina.
  4. **The Eiffel Tower** : Sly has to deal with plenty of guards, badniks and heights to get a Key at the top of the tower.
  5. **Hunt on Angel Island** : Knuckles digs around in his dreams to find another Key.
  6. **Night at the Museum** : Bentley finds out having a living dream museum to find a Key can be quite a nightmare.
  7. **WANTED: True Nightmare** : Carmelita has to defeat a mashup of all the guards that merged into a single nightmare and kill it for a Key before it escapes.
  8. **Sonic Vs. NiGTHS** : A happy nightmaren jester found a Key while dream flying and is willing to give it to Sonic if he races him.



**Master Thief Challenge #1: I Dream of Clue Bottles** : The call of the challenge places us right on top of the safehouse, as we watch clue bottles fall from the sky like twinkling stars onto the landscape. Throughout each section are some clue bottles that will usually call for a certain character’s skills to snag them.

  * Clue Bottles 1-3: Found along the power lines Sly can use to traverse across his section, usually at one of the poles.
  * Clue Bottles 4-6: Ensnared in 3 concrete fountains of Eggman Bentley can bomb up, that will release the clue bottles.
  * Clue Bottles 7-9: Carmelita’s super jump should be able to get her onto the unclimbable skyscrapers and snag some clue bottles.
  * Clue Bottles 10-12: Murray will have to move some huge cars aside to get the clue bottles hidden under their parking spots.
  * Clue Bottles 13-15: Sonic can home attack some rotating cranes to get onto lone rails with Clue bottles on them.
  * Clue Bottles 16-20: Found all along the path we took to get to Tails like elevator shafts or nearby tall buildings, that usually requires his flight to reach and get back. 
  * Clue Bottles 21-23: Knuckle’s clue bottles are fairly easy to find if we just climb up the stone structures to their roofs.
  * Clue Bottles 24-26: One is found on one of the circus tents, another is on a solid ferris wheel, and a third is behind some of the vendor booths.
  * Clue Bottles 27-30: All 3 clue bottles can be found bouncing on larger planetoids close to the temple, in a sort of triangle encompassing it.



Bentley: “With the knowledge of ancient Native American rituals, I have determined that the key we are searching for is on top of the PreciousStone Temple!”

With either Tails or Knuckles skills, we can climb up the structure and get the Key that sits on a adorned pedestal in wait.

KEY 1 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #2: Hippo Wrestling** : Returning to defend his title, Murray kicks the doors in and enters the ring for his challenge.

Sonic, acting as an announcer: “Here he is!!! The Champion of the dream world, MURRAY!!!!”

Murray: “YEAH!!!” *He poses and flexes.*

Sonic: “We got a special show for everyone tonight, as many foes are ready to come in and challenge that title.”

*Various guards and badniks growl and clank.*

Murray: “Bring it on!”

Sonic: “Then it’s a fight! DING DING!!”

It’s time for us to do our jobs and shut their mouths! The enemies will hop themselves into the ring to try and overwhelm Murray with numbers, but they are no match for the best wrestler in all the worlds. Murray’s devastating moves will make short work of every one of them, thinning the herd down to their ends. There are also some extra items getting tossed in that Murray can use to knock out any remaining foes. With the last one defeated, the Key will plop out from the scoreboard above to finish the challenge.

KEY 2 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #3: Dream Machine** : Tails’ challenge sends him over to the train depot in Sonic’s dream area, where he meets the goddess of the dream world.

Tails: “Is something the matter, Illumina?”

Illumina: “Mmm? Oh… well, I really enjoyed making these bullet trains for Sonic, but they are oddly going way too slow for such a fast fellow.”

Tails: “Well, I am a mechanic, wanna leave it to me?”

Illumina: “Oh? You can fix them? Alright, then I’ll teleport you into each train so you can get to their engine. Just be careful, as there is some security running in them.”

Tails: “Nothing I can’t handle, I bet.”

Illumina: “Certainly not, here you go then.”

They barely have to lift a finger to teleport us straight into the first train, and it is easy to notice these are steel horses built for speed. The crankshafts run through the entire train, and the pistons pound back and forth to provide the power necessary to go fast. We got to wade through cool oil, avoiding the movement of the pistons and swinging crankshaft to get through the front of this train. For this one, it seems a large chunk of coal is preventing the fires from getting enough to burn hotly. Just a simple spin from Tails will crack and break it into small enough pieces to let us go on ahead to the next train.

In this one, there is actually no oil on the floor, which is making the crankshaft run red hot and making it work slower. Tails will have to hit the oil pipeline where it bulges to dislodge the blockages and cool down the machines and let us move on. Watch out for the bursts of steam that can burn us coming out of the white hot spots.

The third train lands us in the front area which has some dents bulging in, which is slowing down the train. Tails will have to fly up to them and spin at them until they push back into place and speed up the train. The only danger here is falling into the hot coal pit.

In the final train, the door to the outside is open, and we should send the T-Pup out there to spot the problem of guards holding onto the train and slowing it down. The fox’s robot can latch onto them and tug on them continuously to pull them off and make them fall to their defeats. Getting them all off gets the train back to fast speed and we are teleported back to Ilumina.

Illumina: “Oh? Thank you for fixing the trains! Now they’ll run fast again once Sonic falls asleep. Perhaps I can give you this key for a reward?”

KEY 3 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #4: The Eiffel Tower** : Sly’s challenge is barely a stone’s throw away from the safehouse, as he makes his way to the symbol of Paris itself.

Sly: “Ah, the Eiffel Tower. Noticeable from anywhere in the city. However, I don’t think we ever had a job go to it, have we?”

Bentley: “We haven’t, and even though this is a dream, it should be like climbing the real deal.”

Sly: “I have a good feeling a key is situated at the top. It’s where I would look for one anyway.”

Bentley: “My intel says there is. But watch out, the walkways are overrun with guards and other security measures.”

It may not be the actual Paris landmark, but it’s close enough to be the real thing, complete with plenty of stairs and walkways to traverse. However, just walking along the path may not be a good idea since there are plenty of the smaller guards patrolling back and forth wanting to bust Sly. And worse, searchlights slowly swing back and forth along the walkways as extra security. To even avoid them, Sly will have to climb underneath the walkway to let them swing by or to avoid being spotted. Doing this the entire way up would take forever…

But thankfully, Sly can conjure up wall hooks along the metal structure on his sparkle spaces, which last for about a minute, letting us climb up quite a few stories of the structure. With plenty of use of them, getting up to the top will be no trouble at all, minus dodging the swinging spotlights. At the top, we can bag the Key and fly off like a super spy.

KEY 4 GET 

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #5: Hunt on Angel Island** : Knuckles returns to his dream home to find his challenge.

Knuckles: “Hmm… I wonder if my dreams are hiding a key somewhere.”

Bentley: “It’s quite possible. This is where I lost my monitors.”

Knuckles: “Now where would they be…”

This time, it’s more of the sheer size of the world making finding the hint monitors tough. Knuckles will have to search around high up to find them. Hope none of us are afraid of heights..

The first monitor on top of the roof of the museum, which Knuckles can easily climb up to. On the roof, he has to punch an air vent to knock the monitor out for use.

Hint Monitor #1: “Home sweet home for a red echidna.”

The second monitor is found on the roof of Interpol HQ, atop the highest steeple.

Hint Monitor #2: “Soft ground hides a beautiful cavern.”

And the third monitor is atop the building in Tails’ dream that Sly had to ride a plane from.

Hint Monitor #3: “The cavern maze lies about its paths.”

With all three clues in hand, they guide us into Knuckles’ dream in the middle of the triangle made by the temples. Digging at the spot reveals an underground purple cavern with lots of crystals arranged as walls. They are clear enough to hide the opening letting us by, but at the end of it is the Key we need.

KEY 5 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #6: Night at the Museum** : Bentley’s challenge sends him over to the museum he was once sleeping in, and wheels himself in through the front door.

Bentley: “I had you do a job like this before, haven’t I, Sly?”

Sly: “It feels like it, but looks like it’s your turn now. You get to sneak around a museum to find the object of our desire.”

Bentley: “This is good practice, I think.”

In a dream world, anything can happen, which means this time Bentley’s going to be the thief sneaking around the museum for the Key we’re looking for while Sly guides him along. What could go wrong?

*Sly can be heard falling out of the chair in the safehouse.* “I’m okay!”

Bentley: “Oh no…”

*Ahem.* Ignoring that, the museum’s second floor has opened up, so we can go check out what’s going on up there. Compared to the art stuff on the first floor, the upper floor is filled with lots of exhibits instead. The southwest side is the prehistoric era, filled with plenty of varying size dinosaur skeletons. When Bentley goes by them, they suddenly come alive and attack at him with gnashing teeth and claws. Thankfully, they’re weak to his bombs to be knocked apart, but they’ll repair quite fast until he escapes the area, which is only through a short hall leading into the northwest area and the doors shut behind us. But before leaving, consider hitting the large button in the corner of the area, jumping over some ‘tar’ pits to hit it.

The time of cavemen takes up the northwestern side, with plenty of mannequins dressed in their garb and carrying clubs and bows and arrows. They become much scarier when they come alive and lumber towards Bentley. The cavemen mannequins are slow, but they like to gang up together, and take a few bombs to break apart for a while. We should also be wary of the multiple campfires, as they send out homing fireballs to chase us away. Jumping over some fire pits in the rounding corner nags us a second switch, for something. All of them stop once we enter the next hall and the door closes behind us again.

Time jumps ahead to the time of cowboys in the northeast side, which turns up the danger up a few degrees. Now the mannequins have guns that can fire much faster if they don’t backfire and move much quicker. They are destructible a bit quicker, but also reanimate faster in return. Worse yet are the horses and cows around kicking their back legs at us and wagons rolling back and forth near the end of the exhibit, though, we’ll have to deal with a fast circling one to get a third button. Once more, we only know safety in the hall between exhibits, feeling close to accomplishing something.

LASERS! ROBOTS!! PULSE RIFLES!!! It’s the future now in the southeastern side of the exhibit areas. Laser security like ones we’d normally expect from Sly Cooper are bounced around everywhere by mirrors, so destroying them will let us pass ahead. But be careful, as breaking a mirror summons the claw-pinching robots in the exhibits to activate and chase after Bentley, and they require quite a few bombs to break apart. The dangerous thing of all is most likely the security cameras with pulse rifles attached as guns. They fire big lasers that like to bounce around to try to get us with a ricochet. Perhaps bombing the cameras might also knock them out of commission for a bit. We’ll have to weave through multiple cameras to reach the final button, hearing a lock clicking somewhere. Then it’s a beeline through an army of robots into the safety of the last hall.

Inside this southern hall is a case locked by four buttons in the exhibits, and pressing them all opens the case up to let us get the Key inside. If not, we’ll have to go through the reset exhibits again to get the Key the next time around. With Key finally in hand, we can leave this crazy place for good out the front doors.

KEY 6 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #7: WANTED: True Nightmare** : Carmelita hears the calls of the warning siren Interpol has, sending her over to her dreamworld where she spots Illumina standing on the front steps.

Illumina: “Ah, finally, you arrived.”

Carmelita: “Is the dream world being threatened again?”

Illumina: “I don’t want to cause a panic, but I think so. The leftover guards Void had made are starting to form into one being, and if it gets loose, it might…”

Carmelita: “Don’t think about it, Illumina, I’ll deal with it personally myself.”

Illumina: “That would be quite helpful, thank you. I think it’s coming from Eggman’s… dream, if you can call it that.”

Once inside the dark gates, we’re lead down a new, brightly lit path that leads us to a very large circuit tent which looks quite like a trap. But there’s not much we can do but go in. To our horror, the main attraction is a mess of the guards of the area. The outer part of it is the protective panels and cones of the Rounded guards. Beneath them is the scary mashup of the rest with an coyote/dog face for biting, multiple arms with a surfboard, guns, lassoes, stretchy spiked-armbands wrists, and horse legs for kicking.

**Boss: True Nightmare**

Its scare factor is just as high as its danger factor, but none of that matters at the moment as we first have to get rid of those damaging panels before it flies to us which take some quick shots to smash. Then, we can focus on destroying the cones with a few kicks and stomps and reveal the monster within. Now with the monster unleashed, we’ll have to be quick on our feet to avoid being killed by this… thing. Long distance is dangerous with those guns, surfboard flinging and stretched punch attacks, and close quarter fighting is worse with biting, kicking, swinging, punching and possible tying. It also likes to change what it does at semi-random choice, depending on what body part is close.

To pretty much describe the fight is one of endurances, slowly chipping away at the monster with shock pistols like it were Muggshot or that Dr. M creature until it finally falls down in defeat, exploding in purple darkness. With it defeated, we can tell Illumina the good news.

Illumina: “Oh? The nightmare is dead? Thank you so much!”

Carmelita: “I’ve dealt with monsters like those before. They always fall mightily to this shock pistol.”

Illumina giggles: “I bet so. Well, perhaps this key is worthy enough for the trouble… and maybe 1000 rings? I think that’s fair.”

KEY 7 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #8: Sonic Vs. NiGTHS** : The blue hedgehog feels a calling to head to the Preciousstone Temple entrance, to find a purple jester happily twirling around in space.

Sonic: “Huh? You would be… NiGHTS, right?”

*NiGTHS pirouettes and nods.*

Sonic: “It’s been a long time since we last saw you. Things going alright?”

*NiGHTS nods and points to the Temple, and gives a thumbs up gesture.*

Sonic: “Oh? You saw? Well, it was no trouble it all with the friends I had.”

*NiGHTS smiles, fishing in his pocket and procuring a Key.*

Sonic: “Hey, you found a key? We could use that.”

*NiGTHS shakes his head ‘no’ and puts it back, before running in place.*

Sonic: “Ooooh, you wanna race on your home turf. I’d be happy to oblige.”

*NiGTHS claps happily as he gets into racing form.*

NiGHTS is, as anyone would expect, a flying racer, and quite a quick one at that. However, he can only fly on a preset path made up of yellow rings dotting around the area. They don’t necessarily take the fastest path across the world, but they do give him a speed boost to make up the distances and even speed ahead of the fast hedgehog. Being slow is not an option with this guy, as we’ll have to take every opportunity we can to get and keep ahead.

As for the race, it’s a long one as we start from the steps of the temple and speed around the space area to the front steps of the museum for our first checkpoint. From there, it’s a hop, skip and a jump across the river to the second checkpoint at the safehouse. One more river crossing and building maneuvering leads us to third checkpoint on Interpol’s steps. Then it’s time to lay on the speed to get to the fourth checkpoint at the entrance at the stadium. It’s time for some rail grinding to get to the fifth checkpoint on the train depot entrance. The rails will be our best friend to make it into Tails’ dream city, and it’s up the hill to his workshop for the sixth checkpoint. Then we rool down the hill and head deep into the jungle for the seventh checkpoint in the middle of the ruins in Knuckles’ dream. Then it’s anyone’s race for the final checkpoint right back at the entrance to the Preciousstone Temple.

If NiGTHS wins the race:

*NiGHTS twirls around in the air, before bowing happily.*

Sonic: “Heh, a gracious winner, are we? Then I shall accept the loss.”

*NiGHTS runs in place again, asking for a rematch if we want.*

If Sonic wins the race:

Sonic: “Looks like I won, nightmaren.”

*NiGHTS bows, accepting defeat and gives him the Key.*

Sonic: “Hopefully we’ll see you again soon.”

KEY 8 GET!

\--

_ Ultimate Reward Location _ : Found in the break room of the Interpol Office, it might require knocking some guards away to get to.

_ Ultimate Reward: The Electric Sly-de _ [Description: For some Reflex power, Sly can gain an aura of electricity to power up all his moves even more, and make him fast as well. The shock is quite powerful, defeating big guards fast.]


	41. Master Theif Challenges: Episode 8

  1. **Aerial Clue Finding** : Clues are scattered over the 7 airships. Time to go find them all to be pointed to a Key.
  2. **Sky High Fight** : Murray fights with all of the guards and badniks to find a Key they have.
  3. **Panzar Tornado** : Tails pilots his Tornado to take down a revitalized Egg Carrier aiming to destroy the ships.
  4. **Tactical Sneak** : Sly has to sneak through the dark caverns of Angel Island, to find a Key held by a weak but scared robot.
  5. **Close to Home** : Knuckles sniffs out for the Key hiding on his island home.
  6. **Welcome To The Machine** : Bentley uses an unsuspecting Chaos Gamma to his advantage to destroy Gimme Shelter.
  7. **WANTED: The Egg Dragoon?!?** : Carmelita goes one on one with Eggman’s big lean dragon machine going haywire, and destroy it before it terrorizes the world and get a Key.
  8. **Sonic Vs. Shadow** : Hedgehog vs hedgehog, Sonic has his work cut out to nab the Key his dark adversary has.



**Master Thief Challenge #1: Aerial Clue Finding** : Heading out to the open balcony just a bit from the safe room, we can find our Clue Bottle challenge as they appear all over the decks of the ships. Tails, Knuckles or others we can trust to cross the ships safely are good choices to use to get the bottles we need.

  * Clue Bottles 1-12: One is around the top of the living area, a few hide around the deck of the ship, and the rest hide in every room of the ship in unexpected places.
  * Clue Bottles 13-30: Across the six others shark ships, there are three bottles to find. One usually is on the main deck area in a seeable spot, another is in the bow of the ship, around the broken cannons, and the third is around the stern area of the ship, behind or in some crates usually.



Bentley: “Phew! This took nearly all of my extensive knowledge on everything to find out the location of this key. It looks to be in the area the van was at.”

Indeed, just a few feet away from the parked van is the Key we are looking for, and easily snaggable.

KEY  1 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #2: Sky High Fight** : Murray heads on over to his van in the docking bay, getting in for his challenge as he [the game takes control] makes his way onto the deck.

Tails: “Uh-oh. Looks like Eggman still has a lot of his army of robots around, ready to try and destroy us.”

Murray: “Leave it to me and my van. I’ll show you what we can truly do!”

Murray’s challenge is similar to his part of the operation against Eggman, driving around the seven decks and causing mayhem. But now, we’ll have to destroy every cannon, enemy and anything else moving too. Complete and utter destruction of everything is key to earning, heh, the Key, which only appears once the last thing is destroyed. Just drive over the Key to finish the challenge.

KEY 2 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #3: Panzar Tornado** : For the cutest fox around, Tails heads on over to the ship hanger around back, where he has parked the Tornado.

Bentley: “Oh no... No no no no no! This isn’t good! A very large airship is coming our way, and I think it wants to blow these ships to smithereens!”

Tails: “Just leave it to me, Bentley. The Tornado is perfectly capable to handle fighting airships.”

Bentley: “Then you better hurry! It’s closing in fast!”

*Tails is shown jumping into the cockpit and flying out into the sky, and with a fade out, we’re out on the open skies, getting a little training. We have control during the times Tails stops talking to get used to the controls.*

Tails: “Lets see, the plane will always be going forward, and I have complete movement with the  **Left Analog Stick** .”

Tails: “The  **Square button** adds a boost to my engines.”

Tails: “The  **X button** fires regular bullets, and the  **O button** fires lasers that take a little time to lock on, but do more damage.”

*Balloons appear during this time for target practice.*

Tails: “Oh! The  **L1 button** lets roll left, and the  **R1 button** rolls me right. And the  **Triangle button** makes me do a 180 degree turn. And I can dodge attacks using them.”

*Once we’re all good and ready, the biggest bogey around appears from the dark clouds…*

Tails: “Huh? T-the Egg Carrier? But I thought we destroyed that thing…”

Yes, our eyes don’t deceive us. Sonic fans will notice it is the massive marvel Eggman had used during the events of Sonic Adventure. It’s loaded with cannons and smaller ships, and even the huge laser that it had on the front. For being waterlogged, it still seems to be flying like normal, hmm…

Cubot, with a pirate accent over the ship’s loudspeaker: “YARRGH!! Look what me and the circular first mate found out in the middle of the ocean!”

Tails: “Of course his bumbling helpers would find it.”

Orbot: “Indeed. We have found our boss’ Egg Carrier and got it airworthy again!”

Cubot: “And to show our Cap’n we are still worthy mates, we’re going to take down the vessels you lubbers shanghaied! And if ye happen to be in the way, we’ll capsize ye too!”

Tails: “Well, they’re serious for once. I better show them who’s boss.”

**BOSS: EGG CARRIER**

There are three targets to aim for in this first stage. The main one is shutting down the main cannon that opens up to fire a strong laser at the other armada, which has a health bar on it’s own that needs protecting. The laser’s easy enough to avoid, but it takes more damage while it’s open, which can take out quite a chunk of health on our fleet. It might be best to get rid of this the first time it opens to buy us plenty more time. The secondary targets are the cannons and the smaller fighters being sent from the decks in lines. The cannons slowly attack the vessels until they see Tails, then focus on him. They are much weaker, with a good timed laser taking out most of them with ease. The fighters are faster and more aim to shoot us, but catching them with a lock on will also render them destroyed before long.

With all the weapons destroyed, Cubot and Orbot start sounding desperate.

Orbot: “Oh no! Status reports indicate we are out of weapons!”

Cubot: “Yaargh! We aren’t yet finished, first mate Orbot! Send all power to the rocket boosters and we’ll RAM them to keelhaul!”

*The fires coming from the rockets burn bright white and the ship speeds super fast to its target.*

Now a timer starts, saying we have 3 minutes until the Egg Carrier slams into the fleet, and we have to stop them before that happens, or else we’ll get an earful of Cubot.

*If we fail to stop it in time.*

Cubot: “CHAAAARGE!!!!!!”

But, we don’t want that to happen, so it’s time to use our own speed boost to catch up to the stern end of the Egg Carrier. Once we are close enough, we can send bullets and lasers to take down the rockets one by one, adding 30 more seconds to the clock and us requiring less time to catch back up to the ship again, until it’s always in range to be lasered with no more speed.

Orbot: “We have got no more rockets, sir! We’re just running on momentum!”

Cubot: “YARGH! Useful enough! Now they can’t stop us from at least doing some damage!”

Indeed, we only got a minute left until collision, but remember, this ship was underwater for a long time. They tried to polish it up, but the joints between ship connections are rusted and weak, and easily start breaking apart with some bullets and lasers. As wings parts start flying off, Cubot can be heard groaning to keep the ship on course, but once we blast the last of the rudders and wings, it starts nosediving down below the clouds.

Cubot: “NOOOO!!! We’ve failed the Cap’n…”

Orbot: “I wonder how mad the boss will be…”

*Explosions occur below the dark clouds and a Key flies up and on Tails’ lap.*

Tails: “Oooh! I got a key! Nice of those dumb robots to give me it.”

KEY 3 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #4: Tactical Sneak** : Sly’s final challenge takes him out of the stuffy airship and over the bridge connecting Angel Island to the Orca ship. The seven ships are now acting as a protective brigade for the floating island.

Sly: “I’m surprised you’re letting me onto your island after what we did before to it.”

Knuckles: “After the adventure we had, I trust you enough to let you step on the island again.”

Sly: “Hmm. So why am I here?”

Bentley: “Well, as expected, Eggman’s robots have infested the island again, but weirdly, they aren’t heading for the Emeralds, but instead, they have unearthed some secret part of the island.”

Sly: “Define secret for an already hidden island?”

Knuckles: “It’s the training grounds my ancestors used to become as strong and agile as you see I am. I was the last one to go through there until this island fell down the first time. It became sealed with rocks and earth that even I had failed to get rid of. It seems this recent jostling maybe revealed the place once more. I can’t imagine how much more dangerous the obstacle course is, or if it even still could be one.”

Sly: “Heh, no problem. I’ve dealt with an ancestral skills course before. Just point me the way and I’ll find a way through.”

Bentley: ‘The waypoint is set up, go on ahead.”

The raccoon is there in two shakes of his tail, finding a sloping entrance into a cave. Sliding down, we find ourselves in the depths of Angel Island in a place most unfamiliar. The caverns on this part of the island have plenty of openings like someone took a massive hammer and swung hard repeatedly, letting us see the open sky outdoors on the right side and below us. Some of the gaps do have rope bridges when they were once pits in the past, but the rest are not bridged up, perhaps for training purposes. There are also some large stone temples connecting areas to each other, that look to be testing grounds as well.

Sly: “Huh… well, it’s automatically more deadlier than Kaine Island… whatever’s left of it now.”

Knuckles: “I know our training grounds tested quite a lot of our skills, like gliding, climbing, strength and cunning.”

Sly: “I hope for my sake there’s no feats of strength. I can’t do what Murray does.”

Our first obstacles is a deceptive, simple one. Normally, an echidna would glide over these wide pits with their spines, but since Sly has a parachute, he can circumvent that. That’s the simple. The deception comes in that the safe areas between gaps are patrolled by Eggman’s large guards from his airships, and they are quick to respond to the slightest noise. Using a distraction or being extra sneaky is required, as being spotted starts an alarm and fails the mission instantly. Somehow make it to the end to find a stone temple with a snake head to enter, the door opening for us and closing after passing.

Sly: “This doesn’t feel good.”

Sonic: “I think I remember this… the water filling temple area?”

Knuckles: “Huh? You made it through one of our stone temple challenges?”

Sonic: “At least, I did way back then when Eggman had his Egg Carrier.”

Yet another reference to Sonic Adventure, it seems we have found ourselves in the snake chamber Sonic once passed through. It seems the temple still has its water features, worked by pressing the glowing buttons to make the water slowly rise. Sly will have to ride the living wooden snake as it swims around higher and higher. He’ll also have to climb a few ruins to press 3 door switches to open the door at the top of this temple. Reaching the top and having the door open lets us escape the temple.

Next up is a sorta long section of Sly pressed up against the wall, inching his around the curved area. What makes it difficult is that the flying guards are working their spotlight eyes or spotlights they are carrying in their grip up and down over the ledge or sometimes from above, going back and forth. It’s going to take some quick wall walking and hiding under shadows to dodge them. On the other side is another temple that opens and closes its doors.

Sonic: “Hey, its the mirror maze!”

Knuckles: “You completed this- ah, nah, you’re probably not that boneheaded.”

Sonic claps: “Well done, Knuckles, you finally did it. I have been shamed. You win.”

Knuckles: “Hah, in your face.”

The area is covered in complete darkness that not even the binocucom vision can offer much sight ahead. The only light sources are from the ceiling onto small mirrors that Sly can rotate to hit larger mirrors to scatter more light around and make the path ahead more visible. This part hasn’t changed much from SA, though some of the platforms have crumbled since then and the light dash is replaced with grinding some crumbling rails over to the other side. Beyond is a water slide, making Sly scream as happy as can be, as he gets dumped out over a waterfall and glides on over to the next safe area.

What used to be a long segment that rivals most Indiana Jones flicks has been changed to having boulders rolling back and forth over half pipes that Sly will need to use careful timing on to avoid being squished flatter than a pancake. The boulders roll at various, but predictable speeds to notice a pattern from them.

After flying over a pit at the end of the pipes, we end up in the gutter area of what could be called a stone pinball table. Rolling down from the top are always 3 boulders bouncing all over the place like pinballs, hitting various stone targets and bumpers. Every stone target they hit causes smaller, but still crushing boulders to fall on top of Sly, which he’ll have to dodge their shadows so he doesn’t stay in one spot. There are also stone ‘flippers’ bouncing the boulders back up for extra craziness. The only ‘safe’ spaces are holes carved into the table that the large boulders pass over but will let Sly get hurt from a smaller, falling boulder. Keep on moving and watching the rocks to make it up and over this segment to the final temple area.

Jumping on sand dunes over shallow water takes us to the large temple walls with panels glowing on the walls.

Knuckles: “Oh dear. The constant crashing has not been fair on this room. Those panels used to be able to move around to make anti-gravity walkways but now it looks like most of the panels got ripped off their hook connectors.”

Sly: “Hooks, huh? Sounds like no problem for me.”

Only a few panels survived staying on the walls, providing sticking spots for Sly to see where to go next. The hooks are the same as they were in Sly 3, just pull back while holding one, then release to be flung forward and catch the next. Sly will, however, have to press the switch that used to move the panels to place the hooks in the right spot to continue ahead. And continue to watch out for patrolling badniks and guards, but there seems to be less in here. Once we make our way around to the button that activated a ring chain, there is a long vine connecting across that Sly can hang the crook of his cane on and ride it to the other side like a zipline.

A short walk ahead leads us into a different part of Hidden Palace, that has a mural of the watery Chaos flooding the prophetic Station Square. With good luck that the master of sneak Sly Cooper didn’t alert anything, a lone Bubbles quietly releases and retracts its spikes, blissfully unaware of who’s about to come up and smack it to bits. Its reward is the glorious Key we’ve been searching for. Once we collect it, an altar appears from the floor, which looks like the warp objects found in Hidden Palace and Sky Sanctuary. Use it, and we come out next to the Master Emerald Altar, challenge now completed.

Knuckles: “Heh, I guess that makes you an honorary Echidna, Sly.”

Sly: “Master thief AND echidna expert. Nice.”

KEY 4 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #5: Close to Home** : Knuckles’ challenge leads him onto his home turf, right to the altar to start it off.

Knuckles: “Ah, home sweet home. Now even more protected thanks to Tails.”

Tails: “Yeah, as best as we could. The robots still need some cleaning out.”

Knuckles: “Heh, we’ll deal with them, but first… lost monitors one more time Bentley?”

Bentley: “It pains me so much, but yeah.”

Knuckles: “Hmm, my island is quite huge. I hope I can find them.”

For a final treasure hunt, searching the jungles of Angel Island a fair test, doesn’t it? It’s going to take all the skills we learned along the way to find where the three monitors are on this large island. The forest is quite lush with foliage, hiding some parts of Hydrocity, Marble Garden, Ice Cap and Hidden Palace Zones. It’s not the whole zones represented here, but small areas of each.

The first monitor is found after pressing a switch in an underwater tunnel representing Hydrocity Zone, flying out of a current that starts. To get in this area, Knuckles has to dig around a circle of coconut trees to crumble the ground and reveal the area.

Hint Monitor #1: “An ancient civilization predicted a blue hedgehog will save their Master Emerald”

The second monitor is deep in the ruins of Marble Garden, where we’ll have to dig around some ruins and punch through other, checkered ones to get to the monitor hidden behind a Relief’s wall.

Hint Monitor #2: “Some of the robots vandalized the mural.”

The third monitor requires plenty of climbing up the frosty large mountain group, dodging rolling snowballs going down the slopes. At the top, we’ll need to dig and punch at the ice to get to the monitor frozen inside.

Hint Monitor #3: “The volcano is the best entrance into Hidden Palace.”

All the clues point to one place, which is Hidden Palace, accessed by gliding into the volcano and entering the crystalline blue ruins. Once there, Knuckles needs to find the prophetic mural and find that the Master Emerald looks lifted from the rest of the tiles. Dig there to pull out the tiles [letting them fall down and break, whoops!] and finding the prophetic Key within.

KEY 5 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #6: Welcome to the Machine** : The green turtle’s challenge leads him upstairs through the Doctor’s personal rooms, where he happens to stumble into a room where a warning signal is coming from.

Bentley: “Hmm? A warning? I wonder what it’s for.”

*It’s barely any effort at all to login as Eggman on the computer and find the signal coming from a basement barrack underground. The screen is dark at the moment.*

????: “DOCTOR, RESPOND”

Tails: “Huh? Is that… Chaos Gamma?”

Sonic: “Looks like the robot Cream described, buddy.”

Tails: “Quick, Bentley, act like Dr. Eggman. He might be quite useful to use.”

Bentley, typing fast as Eggman: “Ah, Chaos Gamma! What is the problem, my lovely robot?”

Chaos Gamma: “SIR, IT HAS BEEN A WEEK SINCE YOU LAST GAVE ME ORDERS. ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

Bentley, typing as Eggman: “Of course! Nothing to worry your precious circuits about. Just busy always planning the next conquest!”

Chaos Gamma: “IT’S A RELIEF, SIR. HOW CAN I HELP?”

Tails: “Hmm, I wonder if we can get him to help us instead. We never were able to find this hidden shelter in the place. Maybe he can do us a favor and break it apart himself.”

Sonic: “Nice thinking, Tails! Do it, Bentley.”

Bentley, typing: “Yes, you can. I’m worried about that annoying pincushion finding this base you’re in. I think it’s time to dismantle it so he’ll never find it!”

Chaos Gamma: “ARE YOU SURE, SIR?”

Bentley, typing: “Does it sound like I ever play games, robot? Do I have to dismantle you for not listening to me?”

Chaos Gamma: “OF COURSE NOT, SIR! I COMPLY!”

Chaos Gamma, for Sonic Adventure players, should feel quite familiar, as the robot has a quick gait and can  **jump** and float as freely as the original Gamma did. In difference, Chaos Gamma has a duo of rocket launchers like the E-1000s, which means he can target even more stuff and destroy tons more too. Just sweep the locking laser over everything and the rockets will fly out when the  **Square button** is let go.

Bentley, typing: “Hurry, my robot! Get rid of all the ammo, weapons and my other models! They are all useless to me now!”

Chaos Gamma: “ACKNOWLEDGED, SIR.”

Of course, the various E-123 Phis, E-1000s, and other badniks roaming around are not pleased at Chaos Gamma’s clear betrayal, and fight us to try and stop the destruction. Too bad rockets are too powerful against fighters, less accurate rocket shooters and dumb robots. The Phis might be able to land some punches from up close, but they are easy to back away from and shoot at in retaliation.

Chaos Gamma: “PATHETIC MODELS! I AM SUPERIOR!”

Of course, this robot isn’t rated high to survive against explosions, so stay clear when targeting the ammo crates, rockets and other explosives. Best to use the explosions against other robots. And most of the metal containers are easy to smash apart and destroy their goodies inside. Eventually, we’ll find ourselves at the main target, the Mother Computer keeping this base online.

Bentley, typing: “Destroy the Mother Computer, Chaos Gamma! Don’t leave anything for those annoying heroes to find!”

Chaos Gamma: “WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE!”

The big central tower will need to be scaled to blow up the wiring and shut down all of the electronics in the area. Just watch out for the swinging, arcing wires, as the electricity is very damaging to Chaos Gamma.

Chaos Gamma: “BASE SUCCESSFULLY DESTROYED, SIR!”

Bentley: “Hmm, that felt good to do, but I haven’t been able to find a key.”

Sonic: “Make the clunker knows where one may be? Ol’ Egghead has to have mentioned it once.”

Bentley, typing as Eggman: “Excellent!... Perhaps, my dutious robot, do you happen to remember where I put a key?”

Chaos Gamma: “DON’T YOU REMEMBER THAT YOU HAVE A KEY STOWED IN A SAFE BEHIND THE LARGE PAINTING OF YOU IN THE ROOM. THE COMBINATION BEING 3-0-0?”

*A cursory glance on over to our side is the large painting of Dr. Eggman as a commander.*

Bentley, typing as Eggman: “Oho ho ho! Thank you, Chaos Gamma! Now report back to my new base, just look for my signal.”

Chaos Gamma: “YES SIR.”

*The monitor cuts into static.*

Bentley: “Heh, that ought to get rid of him.”

Time to roll over to the painting and collect our prize. The safe gets revealed and we just need to put 3-0-0 into the tumblers to open the safe and get the Key inside to finish the challenge.

KEY 6 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #7: WANTED: The Egg Dragoon?!?** : Carmelita walks through the quiet halls of the Orca ship, and riding the rollercoaster has a new destination in the deep stern of the ship. At some shut doors, Shadow seems to be determining what’s inside by ear.

Carmelita: “Sonic..?”

Shadow turns to her: “Why do people confuse us when we don’t look the- Oh. Inspector Carmelita, right?”

Carmelita, surprised by him calling her by correct moniker: “Yes.”

Shadow: “I guess to another world cop, we do look the same… I’m Shadow. Um… I don’t think we got time for a long explanation.”

Carmelita: “Oooh, Sonic told us some of it, but yes, business. Is something dangerous back there?”

Shadow: “I hear quiet mechanical noises, like something is… building itself in there? The Doctor sometimes has backup plans, but he’s disappeared…”

Carmelita: “There’s only one way to find out. Step back.”

Shadow does: “But why-”

*She kicks the door in, forcing it to open up, and we see a mechanical bay extending through the area to the outside deck on the starboard side of the ship. Something seems to be at work, as there are plenty of mechanical parts strewn around the room.*

Shadow: “Huh? There’s no one here, but I swore I heard noises.”

*Some of the parts fly up and smash together to form into a robotic arm.*

Carmelita: “DIOS MIOS!!! Self-making machines!”

Shadow: “But how…”

*More parts fly together to make arms and a long, dragon-like body that trails along the bay. Those who have played Unleashed and onwards can tell what it is.*

Shadow: “He made it again?! But where is he?”

*There is no robot in the cockpit, instead, there’s a full on dragon head, and it uses its sturdy horns to charge around the room.*

Carmelita: “MOVE!!!”

Shadow: “I know!”

*They dodge the various charges until it rams through the wall and out onto the open deck, where it can spread its robot wings and fly just out of regular reach.*

Shadow: “Damn it! Stopping it is going to be a lot tougher now.”

Carmelita: “Not to worry, we’ll kick its butt just the same.”

**BOSS: EGG DRAGOON MK II**

It’s time for a change of pace!!! *Silence.* Whatever. Eggman’s near famous machine now has it in for the law enforcement fox and dark hedgehog, and it might just be the one to make them quake in fear. Its most dangerous feature is a large Ice Bomb that both explodes with ice crystals in many directions and a frost wave that freezes anything solid in a wide radius. We’ll have to jump over it or risk getting frozen, taking too long to struggle out and get hit by another attack, and boy does it got plenty. It’s got an electrified tail that sweeps along the deck that needs to be jumped over. It’s got lasers to fire in long lines from its eyes and missiles to semi-home on us in from its mouth. The most damaging is the drill for a hand, that can both crush and hurt for big damage, and make holes in the deck for us to fall through and get hurt more.

Thankfully, that drill is its own downfall, as dodging it at the right time over something electric can make it get stuck and shock the machine into a short shutdown period to reboot, providing some calm attack period to do more damage. Any part of the machine can be hit by Carm’s shock bullets, but the best places are marked with the green lights at the joints, as breaking them enough there causes the part to fall off and stop the machine from using that attack. And hitting the missiles as they rocket out of the mouth might just cause a large blowback explosion on the robot for some good damage. But, that also means the drill arm will break off after a few electrocutions and stop any further shutdowns. One last time, this is a drawn out battle to see who survives, but even then…

Carmelita: “W-wait, hang on… is it trying to crush us?!”

Shadow: “RUN! It’s a suicide attack program! Don’t stay in its shadow!”

This machine WAS programmed by Eggman, so, of course, it has a suicide final attack to just plain crush Carmelita under its own weight or knock her off the deck entirely. Just avoid it as best as we can, and Shadow will come in to Chaos Blast the thing to mechanical junk.

Carmelita: “Phew!! That was too close.”

Shadow: “Indeed. But we have prevailed and stopped whatever it could have done elsewhere.”

*A Key flies out from its exploding head and into Carmelita’s hand.*

Carmelita: “Huh, it had a key.”

Shadow: “It was probably from grabbing things magnetically.”

KEY 7 GET

\--

**Master Thief Challenge #8: Sonic Vs Shadow** : Sonic heads down to the front deck of the Orca ship to find his dark-colored counterpart leaning on the railing overlooking the rest of the ships.

Sonic: “Heh he. Well, well, Shadow, looks like you were late for the party.”

Shadow: “Tch, I was busy with Rouge on a mission.”

Sonic: “BZZT! Wrong answer! Rouge contacted us once so you certainly weren’t with her.”

Shadow winces in surprise: “Gah… uhhh… I was busy with Omega destroying other robot forces.”

Sonic: “Omega wasn’t happily pronouncing he had defeated another robot army when we saw him earlier, so I’m inclined to believe you’re still lying.”

Shadow, for once, is at a loss for words: “Shut up… It’s none of your business.”

Sonic: “And yet you let me still be curious. Come on, Shads, you know I won’t laugh.”

Shadow: “Hmph, now who’s lying.”

Sonic: “I mean it this time, what is it?”

Shadow: “... You’re not to tell anyone.”

Sonic shows him the headset turning off: “Just you and me.”

Shadow: “... It’s around the time Maria died to protect me…”

Sonic: “Oh jeez… that was this week?”

Shadow: “Yeah… I was in the ARK… doing maintenance and… mourning.”

Sonic: “Oooh. Why didn’t you tell us? We’d be glad to help.”

Shadow: “Hmph, yeah right, you run at the first set of tears.”

Sonic: “Hey, I got an image to keep… and besides… I like doing something rather than crying. Of course I’m there for my friends when they weep, but I’d prefer to give them the comfort they deserve. If we knew about this week, we would have been there for you on the ARK.”

Shadow sighs: “No… I mean, it’s best I didn’t, otherwise we would have missed Eggman nearly taking over the world again.”

Sonic: “True… how ‘bout this. We will all go to the ARK together next time to do it right, deal?”

Shadow ponders a moment: “...Deal.”

Sonic: “Now… I feel you’re here for more than just to mourn. You got something?”

Shadow: “Well, yes, I do.” *He shows a Key he stole from the guards.*

Sonic: “And let me guess, I ain’t getting it unless we settle our score?”

Shadow finally smiles [Somebody get a camera!]: “Heh, how’d you know?”

Sonic: “I’m learning from everyone else.”

Shadow: “Well, yes, we do have a race. Winner gets it, loser is finally determined the faker.”

Sonic: “Heh, prepared to eat those words?”

It’s a race 20+ years in the making as Sonic races his dark double for superiority… oh, and a Key too. Don’t expect the hedgehog to play fair, as he’ll be running fast along every deck and Chaos Controlling over every gap to not slow down at all. Only Sonic running at full speed has any chance of pulling ahead, and he does seem to take longer to Chaos Control over larger gaps. Enemies are a nuisance and should be avoided like the plague, though at least Shadow seems to be affected by them too to our luck.

As for our racecourse, it’s no Final Rush / Chase, but then again, they weren’t racing together head to head on the same screen. From where we are, it’s a large circle around the smaller Shark ships through the first - sixth checkpoints, which are found in the middle of them. Rail grinding fast around the step-stone ships is recommended to pull ahead of the Chaos Control Shadow is using to traverse the gaps. Along the decks, the cannons fire in overdrive and the enemies are aiming to kill either Sonic or Shadow. Perhaps let Shadow wreck them in one hit to get ahead as well? Our finish line is right back at the start, leading to probably a photo finish.

If Shadow wins the race:

Shadow: “Pathetic, Sonic. I wasn’t even trying and you still lose.”

Sonic: “Chaos Controlling isn’t trying?!”

Shadow: “Beating you has put me in such a good mood, I’m willing to rematch. Fair, Sonic?”

If Sonic wins the race:

Shadow tosses the Key at Sonic.: “Damn it. I lost.”

Sonic: “Remember, fastest thing alive moniker? Besides, I’m certainly still not as powerful as you are.”

Shadow smiles again: “Hmph, I’ll accept that.”

Sonic sneers: “Good, you’re happy grumpy again.”

KEY 8 GET!

\--

_ Ultimate Reward Location _ : Found hiding in the casino room, requiring messing with the slots to find. Enter the slot where the rings would come out to find the safe.

_ Ultimate Reward: The Super Seven _ [Description: For most of the Reflex meter, everyone can use their super forms, including intros for Carmelita, Murray and Bentley.]

  * **Super Sly** : As described, Sly gets a look of electrification with bristled fur and cyan bolts going up and down his clothes. Now on his feet, he runs quicker than ever, and a bit more silently for walking on electricity. All of his attacks have a strong electric charge to it, and charging it up to full can lead to a near devastating lighting storm defeating everything in the nearby area.
  * **Super Bentley** : Bentley’s skin turns a lighter green and his shell and wheelchair gain a cyan circuit pattern along it. Any hacking mini games done in this state upgrades Bentley’s hackship guns and speed to be even faster and better. And for the turtle himself, his bombs explode twice as powerfully to their previous rates. His crossbow also gains some extra homing ability.
  * **Super Carmelita** : Carmelita’s fur bristles and spikes up a bit with energy, flowing and glowing a lighter shade of orange, while her jacket and pants gain a flame design on one side, and lightning on the other. Her shock pistol charges full in 3 seconds and has wider bursts to hit everything. And her regular stomps and hand attacks have fiery auras to burn foes.
  * **Super Murray** : Murray’s skin turns a lighter shade of pink, his scarf flutters in an energy wind, and his shirt, head mask, and gloves gain some flame patterns on them. His aura is also fiery and singes enemies on contact, and those attacked by his fists suffer powerful blows and get thrown back like fireballs, leading to everyone and everything catching fire.
  * **Super Sonic** : Golden hedgehog anyone? Sonic’s quills stand up high as he glows with golden fur and bright yellow electricity crackles around him. His gloves get a ring pattern over the palm and the back of his hand. Sonic’s even faster and indestructible in this form and most enemies fall down in less hits when he connects attacks with them.
  * **Super Tails** : Tails’ orange fur shines a brighter yellow and his whites are tinted with yellow, and it all sticks out a bit. Surrounding him are four gold flickies ready to knock away enemies to keep him safe. Tails’ spin also leaves an electric afterimage to zap foes for extra damage. Repairing machines in this state also goes twice as fast.
  * **Super Knuckles** : Knuckles’ fur and spines stick out a bit as they all glow a brighter red and has a red aura around him. His knuckles on his fist are thicker and longer, which translate to extra damage to every enemy he hits. Digging and his movement are also faster and now he can stomp the ground and cause a shockwave to stun enemies.




End file.
